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AMERICAN TEACHERS SERIES 

EDITED BY 

JAMES E. RUSSELL, Ph.D. 

DEAN OF TEACHERS COLLEGE, COLUMBIA UNIVERSITY 



THE 

TEACHING OF HISTORY AND CIVICS IN THE 

ELEMENTARY AND THE SECONDARY 

SCHOOL 



HENRY E. BOURNE, B.A., B.D. 

PROFESSOR IN THE COLLEGE FOR WOMEN, WESTERN 
RESERVE UNIVERSITY 



Digitized by the Internet Archive 
in 2011 with funding from 
The Library of Congress 



http://www.archive.org/details/teachingofhistor01bour 



Smmcan Ctatftarg £frcvit£ 

The Teaching of History and 

Civics in the Elementary 

and the Secondary 

School 



BY 



1* 

HENRY E. BOURNE, B.A., B.D. 

PROFESSOR IN THE COLLEGE FOR WOMEN 
WESTERN RESERVE UNIVERSITY 



LONGMANS, GREEN, AND CO. 

91 and 93 Fifth Avenue, New York 
london and bombay 

1902 



TH P U5KARY OF) 

CONGiRESS. 
Two Co«ee Rectrveol 

APR. 28 1902 

tCOPVBfOHV ITNTRV 
LASS A. XXa Nc 
COPY A. 







Copyright, igo2 
By Longmans, Green, and Co. 



UNIVERSITY PRESS • JOHN WILSON 
AND SON, CAMBRIDGE, U.S.A. 



To 

MT FATHER AND MOTHER 



Preface 



It is the aim of this book to aid teachers of history, 
and especially those who have not had special training 
in historical work, better to comprehend the nature of 
the subject. Until they have considered the develop- 
ment of history as a way of portraying the experience 
of mankind, and know something of the methods by 
which it seeks to reach the sure basis of fact, and until 
they have seriously studied the problems of historical 
instruction, they cannot feel a large interest in the sub- 
ject, and consequently cannot inspire their pupils with 
such an interest. The first part of this book has been 
written to set them on the way toward a better compre- 
hension of these aspects of history. The second part 
offers a review of the general field, which may guide 
those who require such help intelligently to study its 
many phases. While this review is constructed on the 
basis of the programme suggested in the first part, it 
may serve almost equally well where the programme in 
use includes only sections of the field, or distributes the 
matter in a different way. In the bibliographies pre- 
fixed to each chapter and in the notes will be found the 



viii PREFACE 

names of the books chiefly consulted, or useful in a 
further study of the subject. 

Special acknowledgments are due to Miss Agnes 
Hunt, instructor in history in the College for Women of 
Western Reserve University, for substantial assistance 
in the preparation of the chapter on the History of the 
United States, and to Professor Edward G. Bourne, of 
Yale University, for many valuable suggestions and for 
assistance in reading the proof. They are, however, in 
no sense responsible for opinions expressed, nor for 
any errors that may appear. 



Contents 



PART I 

THE STUDY AND TEACHING OF HISTORY 
Chapter Page 

I. The Meaning of History 3. 

II. The Foundations of Historical Scholarship 21 

III. History in French and German Schools . 38- 

IV. History in American Schools 56 

V. The Value of History 77 \~ y 

VI. The Aim in Teaching Civics 93 

VII. The Programme for History 106 

VIII. I The School and the Library * 117 

IX. The Facts of most Worth 134 

X. Methods of Teaching History I47-* 

XI. The Source Method 169 

PART II 
THE COURSE OF STUDY 

XII. Ancient History ..-.". 19 1 

XIII. Greek History 202 

XIV. Roman History 228 

XV. Medieval History 251 

XVI. The Expansion of Europe: The Founding of 

America 283 

XVII. European History since 1560 3 IQ 

XVIII. History of the United States 3 2 5 

XIX. The Course of Study in the Elementary 

School 353 

XX. The Teaching of Civics ........ 366 

INDEX 385 



PART I 

THE STUDY AND TEACHING OF HISTORY 



The 



Teaching of History and Civics 

CHAPTER I 

THE MEANING OF HISTORY 

BIBLIOGRAPHY. 1 

Balzani, U. Italy. (Early Chroniclers of Europe.) London, S. P. C. K. 
New York, E. & J. B. Young. 

Bernheim, E. Lehrbuch der historischen Methode. Leipzig. 1894. 

Buckle, H. T. History of Civilisation in England. 3 vols. London 
and New York, Longmans, Green & Co. 

Droysen, J. G. Outline of the Principles of History. Translated by 
E. Benjamin Andrews. Boston, Ginn. 1897. 

Fling, F. M. Outline of Historical Method. Chicago, Ainsworth. 1899. 

Flint, Robert. Historical Philosophy in France. London, Black- 
wood. New York, Scribner. 1894. 

Freeman, E. A. Methods of Historical Study. London, Macmillan. 
1886. 

Gairdner, James. England. (Early Chroniclers of Europe.) London, 
S. P. C. K. New York, E. & J. B. Young. 

Gardiner, S. R., and Mullinger, J. B. English History for Students. 
Third ed. London. 1894. Kegan Paul. New York, Holt (reprint 
of earlier ed.). 

Guilland, A. L'Allemagne et ses Historiens. Paris. 1899. 

Hall, G. Stanley. Ed. Methods of Teaching History. Boston, 
D. C. Heath & Co. 1886. 

Jameson, J. F. History of Historical Writing in America. Boston, 
Houghton, Mifflin & Co. 1891. 

Jodl, F. Die Kulturgeschichtsschreibung. Halle. 1878. 

Jullian, C. Historiens francais du XIX e Siecle. Paris. 1897. 

Langlois, C. V., and Seignobos, C. Introduction to the Study of 
History. London, Duckworth. New York, Holt. 



1 Books on this list referred to in the notes will be mentioned by 
author only. 



4 THE MEANING OF HISTORY 

Lorenz, O. Die Geschichtswissenschaft. Vienna. 1886. 

Masson, G. France. (Early Chroniclers of Europe.) London, S. P. 
C. K. New York, E. & J. B. Young. 

Monod, G. Du Progres des Etudes historiques, in Revue historique, 
I. 6-38. 

Smith, Goldwin. Lectures on the Study of History. London, Parker. 
1865. New York, Harper & Brothers. 

Wattenbach, W. Deutschlands Geschichtsquellen im Mittelalter. 
2 vols. Berlin. 1885. 

Wegele, F. X. von. Geschichte d. deutschen Historiographie. Munich. 
1S85. 

For further bibliographical references, see A Bibliography of the 
Study and Teaching of History, by J. I. Wyer, Annual Report of the 
American Historical Association for 1899, I. 561-612. 

No subject in the school curriculum touches deeper-rooted or 
stronger interests than history. Ever since the dawn of civiliza- 
interest in tion men have sought to pry into the secrets of the 
the Past. p ast# They began by listening to the Homeric 

bard or the wandering minstrel. As their intellectual power 
has increased, they have become unwearied in the search for 
memorials left by former generations. They have also con- 
stantly renewed the attempt to interpret more intelligently even 
those events which happened so long ago as to lose all immedi- 
ate bearing on the present. But this unquenchable curiosity is 
not irrational ; it is based on the instinctive feeling that the world 
in which we should live is not bounded by the narrow limits 
of our own experience, and that much of that which lies about 
us — our religion, our laws and institutions — can never reveal to 
us its full meaning save through an adequate understanding 
of its relations to what has gone before. " Nothing in the 
world is intelligible apart from its history, and man must be of 
all things the least so, because he is of all things the most com- 
plex, variable, and richly endowed." * 

In order to explain the meaning of the word history, it might 
seem sufficient to define it according to the accepted usage 
among scholars. But aside from the fact that scholars are 
seriously divided upon the question what history is, and what 

1 Flint, 1-2. 



THE MEANING OF HISTORY 5 

is its proper field of investigation, the effort to reach a satisfac- 
tory comprehension of the subject will be more successful if a 
sketch be given of the development of the idea of Meaning of 
history. From this it will also appear what forces History- 
have furthered historical work and what have brought it to a 
standstill. 

History is an important branch of literature, and its develop- 
ment, like that of literature in general, has been profoundly in- 
fluenced by social conditions and by political events, History as 
by the progress of civilization and by its decay. Literature. 
The double meaning of the word history sometimes causes this 
fact to be lost sight of. Students seem to feel that their only 
business is to understand the series of events, and that it is not of 
consequence for them to know how these events have been con- 
ceived by great interpreters, except in so far as such knowledge 
will extend their own understanding of the events under con- 
sideration. But the observant student cannot pass through 
the secondary school, or the early years of college, without 
noting the large place the Greek and Roman historians occupy 
in his course of classical reading. The first Latin prose that he 
reads is history, and so, also, the first Greek prose. Indeed, it 
would be hardly an exaggeration to say that the historians re- 
main the principal authors at even a more advanced stage of 
his work. The names themselves are impressive : Caesar, 
Xenophon, Sallust, Herodotus, Thucydides, Livy, Tacitus, 
Suetonius. 

Although the classical historians have in some respects never 
been surpassed, there was nevertheless in their view of the world 
at least one serious defect, and this influenced classical 
their writing. They never could forget the contrast Historians. 
between themselves and the Barbarians, so that they were unable 
to conceive the development of mankind in its unity. What is 
now called "Universal" history was beyond them. 1 Christian- 
ity must first proclaim that there was neither Greek nor Jew, 



1 Bernheim, 24. 



6 THE MEANING OF HISTORY 

Barbarian, Scythian, bond nor free, before history could become 
truly comprehensive. 

But this broadening of sympathy came too late to be of im- 
mediate consequence in historical writing, for with the decay of 
Medieval literary taste, the enfeeblement of the imagination, 
Writers. an d the loss of critical power, a change came over 

history. This change was hastened by the destruction of the 
Roman Empire and by the establishment of a ruder social order 
by the German invaders. It is not easy to mark the place where 
the transition is made from classical to mediaeval historical litera- 
ture. Indeed, Professor Freeman contends there is no such 
place. 1 But he acknowledges that in the West at least one change 
of great importance did come. Literature passed into clerical 
hands, so that Gregory of Tours, an historian upon whom we 
depend for much of our knowledge of the earlier Frankish 
period, was primarily interested in the Church, and little in art 
or literature. From this time on, with a few exceptions, like 
Villehardouin, Joinville, and Froissart, historical writing was 
done by the clergy, and, generally, in the monasteries. It was 
in the form of annals, or of chronicles which followed almost as 
slavishly the succession of years. The annals often contained 
stirring accounts of what was going on in the political world, but 
mingled with these were references to marvels " such as the birth 
of a two-headed cow, or the falling of meteors, or the miracu- 
lous conversion of heathen." 2 

Historical work has been affected by events far less porten- 
tous than the decay of classical civilization. This is well illus- 
Effect of trated in the history of Germany. With the 
Great Events, accession of Otto the Great in 936, Germany 
escaped the eclipse that darkened the rest of Europe after the 
disintegration of Charlemagne's empire. The Germans have 
been wont to leave to French history the proofs that the tenth 
century was a dark age, and to assert that it was one of the most 



1 Freeman, Lecture V. 

2 E. Emerton, Introdtcction to the Middle Ages, 61. See also Gaird- 
ner, Balzani, and Masson, The Early Chroniclers of Europe. 



THE MEANING OF HISTORY 7 

brilliant in their own annals. 1 The tradition of the Empire had 
passed to them, and with this a clearer consciousness of the 
world and a desire to set forth the deeds of their leaders in con- 
nection with the experiences of other peoples. And their study 
of history was made the more fruitful because not yet had the 
reading of the classical authors ceased, and because they still 
possessed genuine sources of information for the history of the 
more recent past. In the latter part of the thirteenth century 
the Dark Ages for Germany began. The fall of the Hohen- 
staufens, depriving Germany of her international position, threw 
history back upon merely local interests, from which it was not 
again to be drawn away until the Renaissance. 

Gabriel Monod, a distinguished French critic, declares that 
these writings were not, in the strict sense of the word, history, 
|br the chroniclers fixed their attention less upon Medieval 
1/ the past than upon the present, eager to hand on Writers. 
the memory of the affairs which they had observed. 2 They could 
not conceive of the past as a distinct object of study, and they 
had little appreciation of the differences which have distinguished 
one period from another. Moreover, the greater number of 
them desired not so much to tell the story for its own sake as 
to illustrate some theory, either the redemptive process in con- 
nection with the events of their own time, or the continuity 
of empire from Augustus to the Franconian or Suabian em- 
perors. Although they often strove to be impartial in their 
investigations and wrote with vigour and artistic effect, they dealt 
with their sources of information without critical or imaginative 
power. 

Frequently they embodied in their writings whole passages 
from their predecessors, so that the result is rather a mosaic 
than an independent narrative. Consequently one of the first 
duties of the scholar is to discover the paternity of their state- 
ments. 3 Even Einhard, who had so great a subject as Charle- 



1 Wegele, 12. 

2 Revue historique, I. 5 ff. 

3 Langlois and Seignobos, 97-98. For example, an unusually popular 



8 THE MEANING OF HISTORY 

magne to deal with, and whose capacity is proved by the 
remarkably interesting biography which he wrote, attempted 
to borrow the garb of Suetonius and to drape the gigantic 
limbs of the Frankish king with old Roman clothes. 

In spite of their defects there was one new element that 
the mediaeval writers added to history. The fortunes of the 
State had hitherto furnished the thread of unity running through 
the narratives of the historians. Now the Church was added, 
bringing into the foreground another set of vital interests, and 
greatly broadening the scope of the subject. 1 

With the Renaissance history not merely recovered all the 
ground that had been lost by the decay of Roman society, it 
did more : in a sense never quite true before it 
became a branch of literature and a science of 
investigation. The discovery of antiquity, made through the 
revived interest in the study of the classical writers, led to a 
better understanding of the age which was just drawing to a 
close. The contrasts between the two periods helped toward 
a closer determination of the characteristics of each. Some of 
those contrasts were not apparent to the men of the Renaissance, 
but they saw enough to realize that one was not a barren con- 
tinuation of the other. 

It had been customary throughout the Middle Ages to group 
all the events since the beginning of the Christian era into a 
single period without regard to the profound 
Periods. changes of the fifth and sixth centuries. His- 

torical writers followed St. Jerome's explanation of the prophecy 
of Daniel, and believed that the Roman Empire was the fourth 
monarchy, which could end only with the second coming of 



English chronicle, the Flores Historiarum of Matthew of Westminster, 
is largely copied from two other chroniclers, Roger Wendover and Mat- 
thew of Paris. Hume made the blunder of quoting the same Matthew 
in support of one of Bede's statements, ignorant of the fact that he had 
borrowed from Bede the statements in question. Gardiner and Mul- 
linger, 236. 

1 Flint, 62, asserts that this was as important an addition to history as 
the discovery of America was to geography. 



THE MEANING OF HISTORY 9 

Christ. 1 This was natural enough until the Invasions swept 
away the Empire. But the difficulty of longer keeping such a 
division of history was overcome by the force of tradition, 
and by the fact that the Empire lived on in the East, and in the 
West was restored by Charlemagne and again by Otto. Even 
the students of the Renaissance were unable to break away 
altogether from the theory. But they were the first effectively 
to set the example of revolt. Machiavelli began his history of 
Florence with the overthrow of the Roman Empire. Biondo 
of Forli wrote a universal history " ab inclinatione Romanorum 
imperii!' 1 It is true that not until the seventeenth or eigh- 
teenth "century did the older division disappear. And yet 
enough had been done to reveal a new point of view. 

Since antiquity, and even the Middle Ages, began to seem 
clearly distinct from the present, so that they could be studied 
objectively, there was possible a development of Historical 
the historical sense. It is difficult so to describe Sense - 
this quality of the true historian's way of thinking that it will be 
comprehensible to those not practised in historical studies. It 
is not a sixth " sense," nor a "faculty " ; it is simply a feeling .— 
that the past can be rightly interpreted only when the student j 
lays aside his own prepossessions, and seeks in the past itself the u 
means of understanding the forces which moved the men of a 
bygone age, and when he enters sympathetically into the spirit 
which gave dignity to their institutions. Such a tendency of 
thought could not find its full expression at once, but the 
writers of the Renaissance show its influence. 

Corresponding to this sense for the past is the doctrine that 
there ' has been a traceable development in ideas, institu- 
tions, and the structure of society. Whether the 

, . . , . Development. 

progress has been upward or downward, or just 

what the nature of the development is, may be left for later 
discussion. And it must be remembered that such a doctrine, 
like the historical way of thinking, could only gradually grow to 
anything like its present completeness. 

1 Bernheim, 58-64. Wegele, 481-489. O. Lorenz, 228 £f. 



10 THE MEANING OF HISTORY 

Wherever the Reformation spread, it also powerfully stimu- 
lated the study of history. Luther in his characteristic way 
Effect of the declared that the failure to appreciate such studies 
Reformation. ar g ue d a veritable "tartar-like and cyclopean 
barbarism " ; x and not merely this, he believed he saw the 
hand of his old enemy the devil in it. The Reformers sought 
in history weapons against papal claims. They delved into 
mediaeval literature to discover whether the jurisdiction which 
the Roman church asserted had long been exercised. In this 
way they put the doctrine of development to practical uses. 
Foremost among such workers were the Magdeburg Centuria- 
tors, an association of scholars formed in 1554 to produce a 
history of the Church on the now familiar co-operative plan. 2 
Although their conception of the Church and the papacy was 
in a way unhistorical, nevertheless, moved by a sharp critical 
spirit, they tirelessly examined every stage in the growth of the 
papal power, and in the process added vastly to historical 
knowledge. 

The Centuriators provoked another contribution to historical 
knowledge. In order to repel their attack, Cardinal Baronius, 
who had access to the Vatican archives, composed his 
Ecclesiastical Annals, which has been called the " finest monu- 
ment of Catholic erudition in the sixteenth century." 3 

In France also the Reformation stimulated historical studies. 

Here another force was effective, namely, the interest of the 

great jurists in mediaeval institutions. Towards the 
The Jurists. 

end of the century the leading workers in the field 

of history were nearly all jurists, and either Protestants or mem- 
bers of the party known as the " Politiques," which was firmly 
opposed to the League and to ultramontane views in the 
Church. 

It was natural that the dominant tendencies of the time 
toward theological questions, and the further crippling of the 



1 Wegele, 197. 

2 This name came from their treatment of the subject by centuries. 

3 Monod, Rev. hist., I. 9. 



THE MEANING OF HISTORY II 

imperial power in Germany, accompanied by a growth of the 
separate German principalities, should give to history a some- 
what one-sided tendency, pushing political interests Germaily Md 
for a time into the background. Moreover, the France. 
vigour with which the first two generations of Reformers had 
plunged into historical studies was soon lost. In Germany the 
Thirty Years' War came on, which dragged down literature 
and history in the general ruin. France under Richelieu and 
Louis XIV. enjoyed less of the old boisterous liberty but more 
of order, and with this an opportunity for the quiet pursuit of 
works of erudition. 

The next advance in the conception of history was not to 
come until the eighteenth century, and it was due to the work 

of Montesquieu, and particularly of Voltaire. 

,.- . ^ r , j- ,, Montesquieu. 

Montesquieu was the first writer to direct attention, 

in his Spirit of Laws, 1 adequately to those general conditions 
and tendencies which constitute as important an element in the 
course of events as do single incidents or the deeds of individ- 
ual men. According to a certain way of thinking, these deeper 
undercurrents are the very substance of history, while the rest 
are merely the negligible details. Such a view emphasizes still 
more the epoch-making character of Montesquieu's work. But 
on any theory of history it was a great service to point out how 
the development of peoples has been affected by climate, situa- 
tion, and other natural causes. The German historians of the 
next generation repeatedly acknowledged their indebtedness to 
Montesquieu. 

Voltaire's influence on the conception of history was, per- 
haps, even greater than that of Montesquieu. In 1756 he 
published his Essay o?i Ge?ieral History and 
upon the Customs and the Character of Nations} 
These volumes attempted to describe and estimate the total 
life of the community in its various expressions, political, 
economic, social, moral, and religious. In his article on His- 

1 Esprit des Lois. 

2 Essai sur V Histoire generate, et sur tes Moeicrs et l y Esprit des Nations. 



12 THE MEANING OE HISTORY 

lory, in the Philosophical Dictionary, Voltaire remarked : " One 
demands of modern historians . . . more attention to usages, 
to laws, to manners, to commerce, to finance, to agriculture, 
to population." * It was impossible after this that the rise 
and fall of states, the march of armies, the exploits of great chief- 
tains, should so exclusively hold the attention of historians. 
A beginning had been made of what the Germans call 
the " Kulturgeschichtliche " treatment, or the history of 
civilization. 

But there was at least one serious defect in Voltaire's way 
of conceiving history, — a defect which was characteristic 
of eighteenth-century thought with its stiff rationalism. He 
believed that human nature was always and everywhere the 
same. Any deviation from the standard fixed by the charac- 
teristics of this imaginary natural man was abnormal. Rousseau 
had the same notion when he began his book on the Social 
Contract with the words " Man is born free, but is everywhere 
in chains." Such ideas render history impossible. They leave 
no room for development, which is of the essence of history. 
The practical consequences of this view of things were forcibly 
illustrated during the French Revolution, when even intelligent 
men raged against the past, destroyed monuments, interrupted 
the labours of scholars, and thought thereby to hasten the 
advent of the pet creation of the rational, dogmatic spirit, — 
the natural man. 

Fortunately another movement of thought swept into oblivion 
the prejudices of the eighteenth-century philosophers, so that 
The Romantic m tne en d historians have more to be grateful for 
School. tnan t0 re g re t in considering the work of men like 

Voltaire. This new movement is called the Romantic School. 
Its writers felt a sentimental reverence for the Middle Ages, 
and through their work awakened an interest in a period lately 
despised as the scene of barbarism and superstition. But the 
modern conception of history owes not so much to the writers 



1 CEnvres de Voltaire, Paris, 1826, LVI. 30. See Morley's Voltaire for 
an estimate of Voltaire's work in history. 



THE MEANING OF HISTORY 13 

of this school as to other men who studied the problem of 

history more critically, or patiently laid the foundations of 

historical science. 

Even before the eighteenth-century philosophers had uttered 

their final word on the subject, the German critic Herder began 

to expound and enforce the idea of development. 

, , , , . , " Becoming." 

He contended that it was always necessary to judge 

a period or a nation by a standard drawn from a consideration 
of its own characteristics, and not by some dogmatic notion 
of what human society should be. This idea of " becoming," 
which was steadily gaining control over the contemporary 
attitude toward historical phenomena, Hegel made the distin- 
guishing feature of his philosophical system, and so greatly 
reinforced the tendency. 

Meanwhile, in France, historical work was altogether inter- 
rupted by the Revolution. It was not safe to offer for sale 
works which had been published. Even after the Revolution 
Reign of Terror was over and Napoleon had dis- and Napoleon, 
placed the Directory, history was slow in starting to recover the 
lost ground. It is true the organizing spirit of the Emperor 
undertook in characteristic fashion to embody history in the 
new regime. He gave orders to his minister of police to pro- 
vide for the continuation of a certain Millot's popular history, 
published in 1767, so that the picture of governmental weakness 
under the later Bourbons might show men the need of loyally 
supporting the empire ! 1 

In Germany the results of the great upheaval were different. 
The humiliation of Germany after the Prussian defeat at Jena, 
awakened the slumbering sense of nationality, and 
when the whole people rose and drove the conqueror 
beyond the Rhine, the leading minds turned with new interest 
to the history of Germany. This changed attitude was illus- 
trated in the case of Stein. Always attracted toward historical 
studies, he had in 1809 resolved to study the French Revolution 



1 C. Jullian, Extraits des Historiens francais du XIX 6 Steele, Intro- 
duction, IV. note 1. 



14 THE MEANING OF HISTORY 

in order to discover the origin of the recent troubles. 1 When 

victory had come, and Germany seemed to have gained once 

more the right to exist, his mind turned back to the beginnings 

of German history, and his determination to open the way for a 

better knowledge of this history led to that collection of the 

Historical Monumefits of Germany? which is one of the greatest 

achievements of historical scholarship. 

Niebuhr had shared in the same moving experiences, he had 

served under Stein in the Prussian administration, and finally, 

as Prussian ambassador in Rome after the war, had 
Niebuhr. 

done much to put the relations between Prussia 

and the Vatican on a rational basis. Such practice in the 

management of affairs, coming to the help of remarkable powers 

of mind, qualified him to do a memorable work for history. 

His history of Rome not merely revolutionized the theories 

of earlier Roman history, but also must be regarded as the true 

beginning of the modern historical school. 3 Niebuhr's work 

embodied two elements : first, a critical examination of his 

narrative sources of information ; and second, the construction 

of as complete a picture of the past as possible out of this sifted 

material. Such work could be done only by a real " seer," and 

Niebuhr believed that men of unusual natural endowment and 

exceptional experience were required for the task. 4 

The story of Ranke's work for history is quite as remarkable. 

He early concluded that so far as he was concerned, history 

must not pretend "to judge the past, to instruct 

ourselves for the advantage of the future." In his 

hands it was to aim " merely to show how the past actually 



1 J. R. Seeley, Life of Stein, III. 438 ff. 

2 Monumenta Gennania Historica. 

3 Wegele, 1006. Macaulay wrote, Aug. 19, 1830: " The appearanceof 
the book is really an era in the intellectual history of Europe." Life and 
Letters of Lord Macaulay, by G. O. Trevelyan, I. 195. 

4 Not long after the first volumes of Niebuhr's Rome appeared there 
was published Savigny's History of the Roman Law in the Middle Ages, 
which was an attempt to apply the same severely critical method, 
and to trace the course of development in the facts of an important 
allied subject. 



THE MEANING OF HISTORY 1 5 

took place." * That sounds like a simple, commonplace ideal, 
and yet no task can be more difficult of accomplishment, no 
service greater. 

Many students, and not a few historical writers, carry into 
their work, consciously or unconsciously, a framework, a theory 
of events, a philosophy of history — to give the assumption 
a more honoured name — and their investigations amount to 
hardly more than an illustration of such preconceived opinions. 
It was an achievement, therefore, to push aside these things 
which had blurred the view of the object, and to learn from 
the plain facts what had actually occurred. Nor should the 
need of such clear seeing be forgotten, for it was not merely in 
the days when theology dominated men's notions of the world, 
that some were likely to see events cramped and distorted to 
fit into a formula. It is only by such a patient, intelligently 
critical method as that developed by Niebuhr and Ranke that 
the student can feel he is treading the solid earth. 

Ranke did even more than Niebuhr in the creation of the 
modern school of historical writing. He not only set an 
example through an active career of sixty years, «semina- 
seeking to draw his knowledge of the past from ries> " 
the primary sources of information, by an unwearied study of 
records printed and unprinted, but he actually trained many of 
the men who have, next to him, most furthered historical work. 
This he accomplished through the "Seminary," or "practice 
courses," of which he was the originator. Neither his influence, 
nor that of Niebuhr, has been limited to Germany. English 
historical work has been deeply affected by it, and the present 
generation of American historical writers has gained its inspira- 
tion largely from German models, even in the case of those 
who have not been trained in the "seminaries" of some of 
Ranke's followers. 

But Niebuhr and Ranke do not possess as much significance 
in the determination of the scope of history. Their interest 



1 See preface to his Roma?ice and Teutonic Nations. Cf., on Ranke's 
work, E. G. Bourne's essay in his Essays in Historical Criticism. 




1 6 THE MEANING OF HISTORY 

was chiefly in its political aspects. It was left to others to 
further extend the idea of history, so that it should not exclude 
History of those phenomena to which Voltaire had called at- 
Civiiization. Mention. Among the most influential in thus extend- 
ing the scope of history has been Guizot, by his histories of 
civilization in France and in Europe. 1 The latter was early 
translated into English, and has been widely circulated in 
America. In Germany what is called Kulturgeschichte, an- 
other name for the history of civilization, has been more carefully 
defined by Wachsmuth and others, 2 and recently Lamprecht has 
attempted to write the history of Germany from this point of 
view. Roscher employed the historical method in the study of 
economics with such success as to revolutionize the subject. 
The result of this was the development of industrial or eco- 
nomic history, a branch of historical work of equal interest to 
both economists and historians. 3 

From even these fragmentary notes on the growth of the idea 
of history it is easy to see that history, or historical writing, has 
Scope of varied in form and in motive and in characteristic 

History. interests from age to age, being profoundly affected 

by the contemporary state of civilization. It is also plain that 
at present history, if it be understood in no narrow sense, must 
comprehend those phases of human experience which one great 
thinker after another has brought within its pale. It must 
remember the unity of mankind, although it is not expected to 
explore with such painstaking zeal the stagnant civilizations of 
the East, and though it may leave to anthropology or ethnog- 
raphy the life of the African or Australian savage. It must be 
ever anxious to learn how things have come to be, avoiding the 
eighteenth- century error that history is to illustrate certain 
eternal principles, an unvarying human nature, a set of natural 
rights, a closed list of virtues. And it must avoid the reproach 



1 First delivered as lectures in 1829 and 1830. 

2 Jodl, 15 ff. 

3 Roscher published in 1843 his Grundriss zur Vorlestmgen uber 
die Staatswirthschaft nach geschichtlicher Methode. 



THE MEANING OF HISTORY 1 7 

that it is only interested in heroes, in political struggles, in the 
rise and fall of states. 1 To gather the elements of the idea into 
a definition, " History is the science of the development of men 
in their activity as social beings." 2 

There are many kinds of history, each taking its name from 
the particular phase of human activity which forms the subject, 
whether this be the Church or the State, war or politics, theology 
or scientific theory, thought or industry. And there is also a 
general or universal history which endeavours to combine into 
one treatment the total experience of civilized men. 

The subjects most closely related to history are economics, 
sociology, politics, and anthropology. Economics and sociol- 
ogy study historical facts, but only in order to Relation to 
explain certain aspects of the life of mankind. The Economics, etc. 
economist isolates one class of phenomena in order by its 
study to reach conclusions in regard to the economic activities 
of men. In the same way the sociologist wishes to discover 
the factors which enter into the structure of society, or the 
general conditions of social change. Politics is devoted to the 
investigation of the characteristics of the state, and anthro- 
pology takes up those questions of race and origin, of primitive 
civilizations, which lie quite beyond the ordinary limits of 
historical work. History cannot ignore, or refuse to embody 
among its own conclusions, the results of the investigations of 
these various fields. On the other hand, it cannot become 
identified with any one of them. 



1 John Richard Green put the matter instructively in the preface 
to his Short History of the English People. " If I have said little," he 
explains, "of the glories of Cressy, it is because I have dwelt much on 
the wrongs and misery which prompted the verse of Langland and the 
preaching of Ball. ... I have set Shakspere among the heroes of the 
Elizabethan age, and placed the scientific inquiries of the Royal Society 
side by side with the victories of the New Model. If some of the con- 
ventional figures of military and political history occupy in my pages 
less than the space usually given them, it is because I have had to find a 
place for figures little heeded in common history — the figures of the 
missionary, the poet, the printer, the merchant, or the philosopher." 

2 Bernheirn. e. 



N 



1 8 THE MEANING OF HISTORY 

Professor Flint has acutely remarked that everyone, whether 
he is ready to call it by that name or not, has a philosophy of 
is History a history ; in other words, everyone has some explana- 
Saence? t [ on f the nature of the historical process. 1 Specu- 

lative philosophy has fallen upon days of popular indifference, 
and has left the task of explaining human history to the devo- 
tees of the physical sciences. When these men attempt to 
raise history to the level of the sciences, they are in fact 
simply offering a new philosophy of history. And the question 
whether history is a science in the sense in which this term is 
applied to physics and chemistry is not merely something for 
the learned to wrestle over, its proper answer in a measure 
determines what is the object of teaching history, and where, 
among all the facts ordinarily included in history, the emphasis 
should be placed. 

There are serious difficulties which must be overcome before 
history may be regarded as a science in the strict sense of the 
term. While much that occurs is due to the operation of 
general causes, many events appear to have been brought about 
by the acts of individuals, acts the character of which could not 
previously have been predicted and which were not, in the 
ordinary sense of the word, the result of determining causes. It 
is this possibility, that the person upon whom the events wait 
may decide in either of two or of a dozen ways, which thwarts 
the scientist. The difficulty is not removed by neglecting 
individuals and considering larger groups. As Goldwin Smith 
remarks, " What we call national actions are the actions of a 
multitude of men acting severally though concurrently, and with 
all the incidents of several action ; or they are the actions of 
those men who are in power. Whatever there is in action, 
therefore, will be everywhere present in history, and the 
founders of the new science, physical science of history, have to 
lay the foundations of their science in what seems the quick- 
sand of free-will." 2 



1 Flint, i. 

2 Lectures on the Study of History, 49. 



THE MEANING OF HISTORY 1 9 

There are two ways to remove this obstacle. The first is to 
deny the freedom of the will in the sense that there is anything 
undeterminable about its action as a further cause solutions of 
of events. With the progress of psychology the the Problem. 
contestants have shifted their ground. Those who formerly in- 
sisted on the freedom of the will now explain that there is an 
element of spontaneity in the action of men consequent upon 
what affects them, or, to speak technically, in the reaction of 
consciousness upon external stimuli, so that no amount of in- 
vestigation can ever bring these acts in individual cases under 
the idea of law. How Washington would decide in any con- 
tingency depended of course upon the circumstances, but it also 
depended upon Washington. Benedict Arnold might have 
acted differently. However far psychologists may penetrate into 
consciousness, they will not be able to state this spontaneity in 
terms of matter and motion. " Only a crass materialism," re- 
marks Bernheim, " flatters itself with the hope that it will be 
able along the line of psycho-physics to explain sensation, 
thinking, and will, as mechanical functions of matter." But 
may not this obstacle be ignored, on the consideration that it is 
only the most general aspects of development that belong to 
history, that the deeds of individuals, great or insignificant, 
singly or in groups, are negligible, and that the errors intro- 
duced by such indeterminable facts, and which might prevent 
the formulation of a science, will, in the long run, balance and 
correct each other ? This view has often been held by sociolo- 
gists, who have professed a contempt for the sort of history that 
has delighted the world since the days of Herodotus. But while 
the historians do not deny that history should investigate the 
general laws and forms of historical life, they assert that its prin- 
cipal task is " to go down into details, to follow development 
into individual circumstances ; to busy itself with varieties." 1 
It is also contended that no man's life can be exhaustively ex- 
plained by enumerating his relations to the group to which he 

1 Condensed from a statement by Dr. E. Meyer in the Historische 
Zeitschrift, LXXXI. 237. 



20 THE MEANING OF HISTORY 

belongs. That which is characteristic of him in distinction 
from others, his individuality, cannot be ignored, for here is the 
centre of his personality. History must not be indifferent to 
this fact, unless it is to exclude what is most significant in the 
experience of men. Even if these difficulties did not exist, the 
immense complexity of historical phenomena, and their ever- 
varying character — the same complex of conditions never re- 
appearing — would oppose a practical obstacle to the effort to 
make of history another natural science. 

History will have for the pupil, as for the citizen, its greatest 
moral value when it remains faithful to the comprehensive con- 
ception of its work which has been gradually built up by those 
who from Herodotus to Ranke have spent their lives in its study, 
when it seeks to unfold before the growing imagination of the 
student human experience in its marvellous variety, political, 
intellectual, religious, social, and economic. It is such histori- 
cal knowledge, as Bernheim points out, which will be the best 
support of public spirit against the attacks of a hollow selfish- 
ness which is pressing in on all sides for the mastery. 



CHAPTER II 

THE FOUNDATIONS OF HISTORICAL SCHOLARSHIP 

BIBLIOGRAPHY. 

( For full titles see list for chapter I.) 

Bernheim. Lehrbuch. 

Fling, F. M. Outline of Historical Method. 
Giry, A. Manuel de la Diplomatique. Paris. 1894. 
Langlois and Seignobos, particularly Bk. II., section I., chapter V. 
Monod. Revue historique. 

Waltzing, J. P. Le Recueil general des Inscriptions latines et 
Plipigraphie latine depuis 50 Ans. Louvain. 1892. 
Wattenbach. Deutschlands Geschichtsquellen. 
Wegele. Geschichte d. deutschen Historiographie. 

The historical facts which are narrated in text-books and similar 
works are selected from an incomparably larger mass of facts. 
Pupils frequently do not understand this. To them original 
the brief paragraph or two about some great affair is a Sources, 
final and complete statement. They do not feel the rich and 
varied life that lies back of it, nor is their curiosity stimulated to 
further inquiry. And many older persons do not realize the 
advisability of consulting more than one writer's account of a 
subject, provided this answers the questions that lie in their 
minds. They never think of hunting up the original sources of 
information, in order to see the records themselves or to get as 
close as possible to the earliest impressions which the events 
made. In some cases this is impossible, but in others it would 
prove instructive. And for teachers such work is enlightening, 
and some of it altogether indispensable. Even if the teacher is 
not to study the sources, it is necessary to understand the func- 
tion or value of the ordinary historical work, and, for this rea- 
son, to see what sort of a foundation it should rest upon. 



2 2 FO UN DA TIONS OF HIS TO RICA L SCHOLA RSHIP 

The source from which the student must obtain his knowl- 
edge of events is the traces left by these events in monuments 
and buildings, institutions and customs, in official records, and 
in writings of all sorts. Sometimes nearly every trace is obliter- 
ated, save a partly defaced inscription, an old ruin, a curious 
tradition ; or, there are such wonderful remains as the Parthe- 
non and the Forum to guide the investigations of the his- 
torian. Again, the outlines of the event lie obscure, hidden in 
masses of material : documents, memoirs, speeches, newspaper 
despatches. 

The most obvious need in each instance is that such scattered 
traces be collected, classified, and be made in some form acces- 
Coiiections of su ^ e - This implies long-continued and scholarly 
Material. labours, for there must be either a search for inscrip- 
tions and manuscripts, or a work of discriminating selection of 
those records and writings which are significant. It should be 
noted that not every scholar is competent to do such work, for the 
collector must possess much of the special knowledge which the 
study of the collection is to create, in order that he may do his 
work satisfactorily. Such knowledge varies with the character 
of the things for which he is seeking. One would not need an 
apprenticeship in deciphering mediaeval manuscripts and in 
reading Greek and Latin inscriptions as a preparation for the 
successful study of the Reconstruction period in the United 
States, but this training would be necessary if one were to at- 
tempt an original study of some phase of classical or mediaeval 
history. 

The task is not completed even when inscriptions, manu- 
scripts, or records are found. All these must be critically sifted, 
to determine their exact value as sources of historical evidence. 1 



1 The letters of Marie Antoinette illustrate the necessity of separat- 
ing genuine from spurious sources. Here the forger has busily worked, 
because of the extraordinary demand for autograph letters of the un- 
happy queen. Of the forty-one, now in existence, addressed to the 
Princesse de Lamballe, everyone has, after careful investigation, been 
pronounced spurious. Lettres de Marie Antoinette, edition Rocheterie 
& Beaucourt, I. Introduction, lv. 



FOUNDATIONS OF HISTORICAL SCHOLARSHIP 23 

Sometimes the particular quality of intelligence required is the 
ability, by a process of learned and ingenious interpretation, to 
bring a fragment of statement into its true place in the body of 
previously ascertained facts. 

The earlier American historical writers found few collections 
of material which might shorten their labours. Although this did 
not interpose so insuperable an obstacle as would pioneers ^ 
have confronted them had they attempted, in the American 
face of a similar lack, to write a history of mediaeval 
Europe, the difficulties were great enough. It was probably be- 
cause of these that Bancroft, in more than half a century of 
labour, covered the history of America only to the adoption of 
the Constitution. 1 Parkman also found that " the most trouble- 
some part of the task was the collection of the necessary docu- 
ments. These consisted of letters, journals, reports, and 
despatches, scattered among numerous public offices and private 
families in Europe and America." 2 The manuscript material 
which he brought together formed about seventy volumes, nearly 
all folios. For the letters of Montcalm to Bourlamaque he was 
obliged to hunt fifteen years. Were these men to begin their 
work now, instead of in 1830 and in 1845, they would in most 
cases find that they were saved the task of searching by the ex- 
istence of well-edited collections. 3 

Even before Bancroft's day there had been attempts to col- 
lect materials on the early history of the colonies, 4 but shortly 
after 1830 this work was pushed forward more Early Collec- 
rapidly. There appeared the Massachusetts and tioIls - 



1 J. F. Jameson, History of Historical Writing in America, 100 ff. 

2 Francis Parkman, Conspiracy ofPontiac, I. x. See. further C. H. 
Farnham, Life of Francis Parkman, 145 ff. 

3 Much of the material that Parkman used is now easily accessible 
in The Jesuit Relatiojis, in seventy-three volumes, edited by R. G. Thwaites, 
and in Margry's Memoires et Documents. 

4 For example, Thomas Hutchinson had published in 1769 a Col- 
lection of Original Papers Relative to the History of the Colony of Massa- 
chusetts Bay, and William Hening had published in 1823 his important 
set of the Virginia Colonial Statutes-at-Large. 



24 FOUNDATIONS OF HISTORICAL SCHOLARSHIP 

Plymouth Records, Documents Relative to the Colonial History 
of New York, the letters and papers of men like Hamilton, 
Jefferson, Madison, and Washington. It is true that some 
of this work was badly done and incomplete, necessitating the 
issue of later editions. 1 

Besides such collections as these there was a natural growth 
of a mass of official documents. From 1777 the Journals of 
Congress were printed, and after 1833 an official stenographic 
report of the debates began to appear in the Congressional 
Globe, later the Congressional Record. Besides these there 
were other miscellaneous public documents, printed by author- 
ity of Congress. 

An interesting illustration of the manner in which historical 
documents have been made accessible to scholars is furnished 
by the Stevens Facsimiles of America?i Documents 
Preserved in Foreign Archives. The twenty -five 
volumes of this collection contain the photographs of over two 
thousand documents, for which nine thousand plates had to be 
prepared. By these plates important documents are brought to 
the student, so that he is not at the mercy of careless tran- 
scribers. He can study the evidence as well as if he were 
to cross the seas to examine the document in the archives 
where it is preserved. But the expense of preparing such 
collections will preclude the publication of many ; moreover, 
the work of editing is done with such accuracy as to render 
a photographic facsimile in most cases a luxury. 

The student of modern history can never expect that all his 
material will be brought together in some great collection, or 
Selected even in several collections, because its mass is so 

Sources. large, and it is sought out by different scholars 

for such different purposes. But for the student who seeks 
merely adequate illustrations of the various movements, colo- 
nial and national, valuable volumes of selections are beginning 



1 Jared Sparks thought he was obliged to correct Washington's 
spelling and his grammatical errors. 



FOUNDATIONS OF HISTORICAL SCHOLARSHIP 25 

to appear. Such are Preston's Documents Illustrative of Amer- 
ican History, MacDonald's Select Charters, Hart's A77ierican 
History told by Contemporaries, or Hill's Liberty Documents. 

The character of preliminary work changes the moment one 
turns from modern history to mediaeval, or to the history of 
Greece and Rome. In this case a long interval Medieval 
separates the events from those who became deeply Sources. 
interested in studying them. This is true even of the larger 
part of the Middle Ages. Meanwhile, many records and 
narratives had been destroyed, others were lost in neglected 
monastery libraries and in forgotten archives. 1 Consequently 
when the men of the Renaissance discovered antiquity and 
began to understand the Middle Ages, it is evident that they 
could not hope to obtain any sound or full knowledge of either 
the ancient or the mediaeval world until they had ransacked 
archives and libraries, had collected inscriptions and manu- 
scripts, the works of historians, annalists, and chroniclers, 
documents of all sorts, royal, ecclesiastical, and feudal. If all 
these were to be properly edited for the use of investigators, 
the collectors must have acquired a working knowledge of what 
are called the auxiliary sciences, that is, the tools for historical 
work of this sort. In order to read the manuscripts they must 
know paleography, the science of the varying forms of writing 
during the periods represented by the manuscripts that are 
extant. They must also understand how to read inscriptions, 
or epigraphy. Another necessary science is chronology, the 
methods of dating used at different times and by different 
peoples. And even the scholars of the Renaissance, close as 
they stood to the Middle Ages, were obliged to learn the 
changing meaning of Latin words and phrases, if they were 
rightly to interpret documents written centuries before their 
own day, and yet long after the Augustan age. They could 



1 Archives, particularly in France, were beginning to be organized in 
the thirteenth century. Sometimes a genuine scholar was in charge, 
like Gerard de Montaigu in Charles Fifth's day. A. Giry, Manuel de 
Diplomatique, 54. 



26 FOUNDATIONS OF HISTORICAL SCHOLARSHIP 

understand Cicero better than Gregory of Tours. In other 
words, they must become learned philologists. 

When they began to appreciate the value of official records 
as sources of information, and to base their work upon them, 
and not so exclusively upon annals, chronicles, and 
biographies, they were obliged to learn the charac- 
teristic marks of all documents issued by royal, princely, or 
ecclesiastical authority in every period of the Middle Ages, for 
each court had its set forms, and yet documents frequently did 
not bear on their face sure indications of date, or origin, or 
even of genuineness. Ever since the Renaissance there had 
been an increasing use of charters and other documents by 
lawyers interested in establishing or defending the privileges 
of monasteries, churches, corporations, or individual nobles. 
Some of these documents were open to attack as forgeries, and 
it is obvious that, in a social system resting upon specific 
privileges and not on general legislation, there were strong 
temptations to manufacture privileges in order to extend 
jurisdiction and to win power. The evidence needed to 
establish the identity of documents was to be gathered by long 
and patient comparison of those of undisputed authenticity. 
Such a body of knowledge, which is called diplomatics, implies a 
mastery of all the other auxiliary sciences. It would have re- 
quired a new miracle, more marvellous than the birth of Athena, 
to have produced at the very beginning a scholar full armed with 
all these instruments of investigation. Indeed, it took two 
centuries to bring them to a reasonable degree of perfection. 

The invention of printing by multiplying books made critical 
scholarship more widely possible. The same years that saw 
First Coilec- editions of the Latin Bible, of the Greek Testament, 
tions. f the early Fathers, and the Greek and Latin 

writers, saw also the publication of mediaeval historical works 
like Jordanes, Einhard, and Otto of Freising. The Emperor 
Maximilian offered large rewards for the discovery of manu- 
scripts, and sent out scholars to hunt, particularly through the 
libraries of cloisters. In France the jurists became deeply 



FOUNDATIONS OF HISTORICAL SCHOLARSHIP 2 J 

interested in the study of mediaeval institutions. Many docu- 
ments were brought together and printed. Toward the end of 
the century scholars began to publish collections of the 
mediaeval writers. But this historical work, so enthusiastically 
and vigorously pushed forward, was not without serious defects. 
Occasionally its impulse was partisan passion, and it also suf- 
fered from the lack of more systematic preparatory labours. 

In the seventeenth century Germany was crippled by the 
Thirty Years' War, and France became the seat of scholarly 
work. Undisturbed by the religious quarrels of the Worfc of 
preceding century, and favoured by the new mon- French 
archy under Richelieu, Mazarin, and Louis XIV., 
students began to lay more securely the foundations of histori- 
cal science. 1 



i Chronology had already been explained by Scaliger in the preced- 
ing century. And now in 1678 there came a work which is still a store- 
house of information on all the institutions of the Middle Ages as well 
as a valuable dictionary for mediaeval Latin, the Glossarium ad scrip- 
tores medice et infinite latinitatis of Charles DuFresne, sieur du Cange. 
It largely, though not wholly, removed the obstacle from language to 
the accurate study of the Middle Ages. Meanwhile the facts making up 
paleography, or the forms of writing, were being assiduously gathered. 
But the greatest achievement of the century and one which formed an 
epoch in historical investigation was the development of the science of 
diplomatics. It happened that in 1625 there had been published a his- 
tory of the abbey of St. Denis, containing a series of diplomas, or docu- 
ments selected from its archives. The genuineness of these was attacked 
by Papenbroeck, a scholar of a rival order, who, without adequate study, 
attempted to lay down the principles of the criticism of such documents. 
This attack provoked a reply from a Benedictine, Jean Mabillon, who 
had been called to the abbey of St. Germain des Pres to assist in writing 
the history of the order. Mabillon did not content himself with a mere 
defence of the Benedictine archives, but sought to determine the true 
principles of criticism. He worked six years, aided by the greatest 
scholars of the day. He had access to the rich collection of both 
abbeys, the royal library and Colbert's library, and visited collections in 
Champagne and Lorraine. Finally in 1681 he published his work, 
entitled De re diplomatica. Its success was immediate. He had laid a 
sure foundation for this department of historical criticism. Even Papen- 
broeck wrote Mabillon, " My only satisfaction in having written on this 
subject is that I furnished you the occasion of composing a work so 



28 FOUNDATIONS OF HISTORICAL SCHOLARSHIP 

By the end of the seventeenth century the method of col- 
lecting and editing historical sources had been brought far on 
National tne wa Y toward scientific completeness, and the 

Collections. time had come to make collections which should 
include all the monuments of a nation's early history, and to 
make them in such a way that, while it might be necessary to 
supplement them, they would not have to be remade after a 
generation or two. 1 The creation of such collections was 
necessary if there was to be any progress in the study 
of the Middle Ages. Without these every new investi- 
gator would be obliged to start where his predecessor began. 
His life would be consumed in collecting the material for study, 
rather than, through study of what had been brought together, 
in discovering the real characteristics of the vanished world. 
Such collections are the permanent improvements which his- 
torical scholars can leave behind them to the profit of their 
successors. They are like the great docks, the railroads, the 



complete." Monod, op. cit. A. Giry, Manuel de Diplomatique, 60-77. 
Rev. Hist., XLVIII. 238. 

1 An earlier collection less comprehensive in scope, but which was 
of solid and permanent value, was the Acta Sanctorum, or Acts of the 
Saints, of the Bollandists. There existed hundreds of lives of men 
whose names appear not merely upon the calendar of saints but also 
among the world's greatest leaders. This material, a veritable mine of 
historical information, had never been critically sifted, and it contained 
so many narratives full of little else except miracles and marvels that this 
whole class of sources was rapidly being brought into contempt. After 
several uncritical efforts to rescue the valuable from the worthless, a 
Jesuit, Johann Bolland, of Antwerp, was persuaded to undertake a 
critical edition. The first volume of the collection appeared in 1643. 
Only five volumes were edited before Bolland's death, but his immediate 
successors carried on the work and raised it to a high level of historical 
scholarship. Some pious churchmen were seriously alarmed at this win- 
nowing process applied to what seemed to them indispensable works of 
edification. In 1695 the Spanish Inquisition forbade the first fourteen 
volumes, but the pope refused to interfere with the work. Even before 
the Jesuit order was abolished, in 1773, the character of the work had 
degenerated. All efforts to carry it on were again interrupted by the 
French invasion of Belgium in 1792, and it was not resumed until after 
the overthrow of Napoleon's empire. 



FOUNDATIONS OF HISTORICAL SCHOLARSHIP 29 

public buildings, by which men seek to save their followers from 
commencing anew. These preliminary labours appeal to the 
imagination because they imply a high type of scholarly co- 
operation, extending over a long period of time, and, also, on 
the part of statesmen, a recognition of the claim such work has 
to public support. 

It is now over two centuries since scholars began to compile 
great collections. The work which has been done in England, 
Germany, France, and Italy, is especially notable, 
although it has been by no means confined to these 
countries. Italy and France were the first to begin systemati- 
cally. Through the labours of Muratori Italy possessed a fairly 
complete edition of its mediaeval writers in 175 r, so that the 
work of reconstructing its history upon a more scientific basis 
could go forward. 1 In France the Benedictines, the order to 
which Mabillon belonged, undertook the work under the leader- 
ship of Dom Bouquet. 2 Eight folios were published 
before Bouquet's death, and the work was contin- 
ued by the brothers of the order until the Revolution rudely 
stopped their labours. There is no finer example of unselfish, 
scholarly effort in all history than this century and a half of 
Benedictine work, from the days of Mabillon to the Revolution. 
During the same period the English government began to pro- 
mote historical work, although not on so comprehensive a scale. 3 

1 Muratori's Rerum Italicarum Scriptores appeared in twenty-one 
folios, from 1723 to 1751. 

2 It was called Rerum Gallicarum et Francicarum Scriptores, or Reciieil 
des historiens des Gaules et de la France. In the latter days of the Em- 
pire the Academy of Inscriptions resumed the task. The work now 
numbers twenty-three large folios. Another important collection was 
begun in 1832, entitled Collection de documents inedits. In 1886, to 
render a few of the more important documents accessible to students and 
teachers, the first numbers were published of a Collection de Textes 
pour servir h P Etude et h V Enseignement de V Histoire. In this the texts 
were not translated, but under the editorship of B. Zeller another series 
has been published, called V Histoire de France racontee par Contem- 
porains, in more than sixty duodecimo volumes, with all the selections 
translated. These are merely examples of what has been done. 

3 Thomas Rymer, the royal historiographer, was ordered in 1693 to 



30 FOUNDATIONS OF HISTORICAL SCHOLARSHIP 

All efforts to begin a similar work for Germany were futile 
until the Wars of Liberation had given the Germans once more 

the sense of a common fatherland and a heritage of 
For Germany. D 

great traditions. Leibnitz projected a comprehen- 
sive collection, and his friends circulated plans of historical 
societies with the hope that princes or other wealthy men would 
become patrons of the enterprise, but no one "would give 
a pfennig." 1 Editions of individual works, and small collec- 
tions, were, however, gradually accumulated, so that it became 
necessary to prepare " path-finders" among such a maze of 
authorities. 

As has already been remarked, Germany owes the collection 
of her Momwienta to Stein, the statesman to whom she also 
"Monu- owed, in a large measure, her liberation from the 

menta." Napoleonic domination. The thought came to 

him in 1815, when he desired to teach his daughter Therese 
German history from the sources. He at once discovered that 
for Germany there existed no such collection as that of Mura- 
tori or of the Benedictines. He accordingly formed the design 
of editing one himself. 

What Stein hoped to accomplish is well stated in one of his 
letters. He wrote to the bishop of Hildesheim, " Since my re- 
tirement from public affairs I have been animated 
Stein. r 

by the wish to awaken the taste for German history, 

to facilitate the fundamental study of it, and so to contribute to 
keep alive a love for our common country and for the memory of 
our great ancestors." This could be done, he added, by bringing 
" into existence a convenient collection of original authorities," 



" transcribe and publish all the leagues, treaties, alliances, capitula- 
tions, and confederacies which had at any time been made between the 
Crown of England and other kingdoms." This work, called the Fcedera, 
covered the period from Henry I. to 1654, and though it has been 
severely criticised, it was a collection of great value. In 1767 the 
English government also authorized the publication of the Rolls of Par- 
liament from Edward I. to the beginning of the reign of Henry VII. 
Gardiner and Mullinger, English History for Students, 224. 
1 W. Wattenbach, I. 13, 14. 



FOUNDATIONS OF HISTORICAL SCHOLARSHIP 3 I 

and by putting it " complete and cheap into the hands of the stu- 
dent of history." But he was obliged not simply to arouse the 
enthusiasm of scholars and to provoke the generosity of princes, 
he must launch his enterprise when Europe was in the full tide 
of reaction, and when the governments of the Germanic Con- 
federation were inclined to ask the question addressed to Pertz, 
the young scholar who later became editor of the collection, 
" For what is this history to be used ? " These were the days 
of the Carlsbad Resolutions by which Metternich sought to 
shackle the press and the universities. Finally, however, all 
obstacles were overcome, and the first volume appeared in 
1826. It would be impossible to overestimate the importance 
of such work for history, because it did more than make the 
material accessible : it furnished critical editions, throwing all 
available light upon the sources of information used by each 
author, so that his testimony would henceforth possess a 
determined valuation. 1 

A similar work for England was planned early in the century, 
but owing to the untimely death of the first editor, its accom- 
plishment was seriously delayed. Finally the govern- For EnglaDd 
ment approved of a new plan, in accordance with 
which there was to be prepared a series entitled Chronicles 
and Memorials of Great Britain a?id Ireland from the Invasion 
of the Romans to the Reign of Henry VIII. The principles 
which were to control this publication, ordinarily called the 



1 The plan of the collection included five classes of writings : 
i, Writers ; 2, Laws ; 3, Imperial Records ; 4, Letters ; 5, Antiquities. 
At first the governments were slow to support the enterprise. Stein did 
not wish to go outside of Germany, otherwise he would have accepted 
the offer of Alexander I. of Russia, his personal friend, to pay the 
expenses. After the death of Pertz, Waitz carried on the enterprise, but 
at length it was reorganized by the Berlin Academy of Sciences. For a 
more extended account of the Momtmenta, see Seeley, Stein, III. 434 ff. ; 
G. H. Pertz, Leben, passim. Wattenbach, 16 ff. 

There is a collection for the use of students, entitled Scriptores rerum 
Germanicarmn in usum scholaram, in which the selections are not 
translated, and another entitled Die Geschichtschreiber der Deutschen 
Vorzeit in deutscher Bearbeitan?. 



32 FOUNDATIONS OF HISTORICAL SCHOLARSHIP 

Rolls Series, demanded the same careful comparison of manu- 
scripts, faithful reproduction of the best text, and the addition 
of necessary critical information, which was characteristic of the 
German Monumenta. And the result has proved of similar 
consequence to English mediaeval history. 1 

The English government has also provided in the Calendar 
of State Papers a work for the modern period of nearly as much 
Calendar of value as the Rolls Series for the mediaeval period. 
State Papers. j t j s com posed of " calendars " or digests of the 
State Papers preserved in the Public Record Office. They 
are so detailed that the student is in many cases not obliged 
to consult the originals, and is never compelled to look over 
a mass of material not pertinent to the matter he may be 
investigating. 

All these collections bring the earlier archives of the great 
European states to the very doors of students, relieving them of 
the burden of long pilgrimages in search of material. 2 

No one of these collections was of service in promoting the 

study of Greece or of Rome. Indeed collections of the Greek 

. .. and Roman writers, from whose pa^es the history 

Inscriptions. ' l ° J 

of antiquity must be learned, had been sufficiently 
multiplied by the humanists and their successors. Moreover, 
the feeling of patriotism which had led to the creation of the 
German Monumenta or the French Scriptores would not have 
impelled to a similar work for Greece or Rome had it been 
necessary. And yet there did remain, scattered here and there 
over the face of Europe, evidences of that past to which 
modern peoples owe so much. These evidences were the 
inscriptions. In the light of their study it was possible to re- 
write much of the history of both Greece and Rome. Many of 
the stones or bronzes upon which these inscriptions had been 
written were still preserved. In other instances the original had 



1 Gardiner and Mullinger, 219-221. 

2 Id. 225-227. In 1887 F. York Powell began the publication of a 
series called English History by Contemporary Writers. Those that have 
appeared are useful for the teacher ; their titles are given on p. 253. 



FO UNDA TIONS OF HIS TO RICA L SCHOLA RSHIP 3 3 

disappeared, but it was possible to find copies in the books or 
manuscripts of early collectors, although these could be used 
only with extreme caution, and after searching criticism, 
because so many forgeries had become current. Furthermore, 
forgers had sometimes inscribed upon stone their ingenious 
inventions, and these must be recognised and separated from 
the others. 

The first serious attempt to make a general collection of in- 
scriptions was begun in the eighteenth century, but the scholars 

who had undertaken the task found it too great for _ . 

. b Epigraphy. 

their powers, and stopped after copying about 
20,000. In 1843 the French minister of public instruction 
appointed a commission to take up the less comprehensive task 
of collecting the Latin inscriptions. This attempt also came 
to nothing beyond the preparation of a wise plan for the 
arrangement of such sources. Meanwhile, under the auspices 
of the Berlin Academy of Sciences, Boeckh had begun to 
collect the Corpus inscriptionum gracarum which was com- 
pleted in 1857, and which has been later supplemented. It 
was not until after the distinguished historian of Rome, Theo- 
dore Mommsen, then at the beginning of his career, had pub- 
lished his collection of inscriptions found within the kingdom of 
Naples, that the project of a corpus 1 of Latin inscriptions was 
again taken up. Its success has been due chiefly to the 
leadership which he brought to the enterprise. The inscrip- 
tions were sought on the monuments wherever Roman civiliza- 
tion had spread, in forgotten and dust-covered volumes in 
libraries, and among the unpublished writings of older scholars. 
Years of labour, incessant journeys and correspondence, were 
the price of each volume, the first of which appeared in 1863 
and the last has not yet been published. As a result of these 
labours, many a gap in Greek or Roman history has been filled. 
Particularly is this true of the development of the Roman 
empire and the Roman system of administration. Inscriptions 
for these serve almost as do official archives for the history of 

1 Complete collection. 



34 FOUNDATIONS OF HISTORICAL SCHOLARSHIP 

later states. Through the inscriptions of brotherhoods and 
even of individuals, glimpses often appear of the lives of the 
common people who have been crowded out of the pages of 
the more formal historians. 1 

After the preliminary labour of collecting material is done, 2 
there is another task to be completed before sure historical 
Critical knowledge is made accessible to the pupil or the 

Sifting. reader. It is not enough to copy passages from 

the " sources," even when these are old and belong to the 
period when the events took place which are the subject of 
study. Each statement must be tested to determine its value, 
somewhat as an acute lawyer cross-examines the witnesses, 
for historical criticism is only another name for asking the right 
sort of question of the mute witnesses in the pages of chroni- 
clers or biographers. A good edition or a well-made collec- 
tion greatly facilitates this work, but can rarely altogether 
anticipate it. An editor usually confines himself to what is 
called " external " criticism, the task of determining the origin 
of the text. The critical examination of the facts contained in 
the text, with a view to their use, is called " internal " or 
"Higher " higher " criticism. It must seek the historical 

Criticism." value of every statement by penetrating, so far 
as possible, into the consciousness of the author of the state- 
ment, and by finding out its psychological history. It asks not 
merely, Was this man in a position to know what he was say- 
ing, but also, Did he have any reason to tell his story 
in this way, — prejudice, pride, vanity, desire to please, the 
hope of personal advantage ? The critic must avoid being too 
ingenious on the one hand, or, on the other, too credulous. It 
is strange that until the days of Niebuhr historians failed 
sufficiently to understand that in examining a narrative of facts 
they were not observing the facts they were seeking, but merely 



1 Waltzing, L ' Epigraphie latine. 

2 It must be remembered that only examples of the work of collect- 
ing have been given. The reader is referred to Bernheim for fuller 
information. 



FOUNDATIONS OF HISTORICAL SCHOLARSHIP 35 

ascertaining the impression which the facts, or possibly the 
story of the facts, had made upon the one who related them. 1 



1 The need of such tools as chronology, philology, paleography, and 
diplomatics, and of their skilful use according to a well-developed criti- 
cal method, is illustrated by the story of the Forged Decretals. During 
a ninth-century controversy in France between a bishop and his arch- 
bishop, appeal was made to certain papal decrees embodying strange 
views of church law, and exalting the authority of the clergy over lay- 
men, and, in particular, of the papacy over the bishops. At first there 
was some tendency to call in question the Decretals, but Pope Nicholas 
asserted their genuineness, and as the papal archives undoubtedly con- 
tained copies of all such documents, this closed the matter. In the 
collection to which these Decretals belonged was the Donation of 
Constantine, according to which the Emperor, out of gratitude because 
he had been cured of the leprosy, gave to Pope Sylvester not only his 
Lateran palace, but also Italy and the west. Both the Decretals and the 
Donation were unhesitatingly accepted during the Middle Ages. And it 
cannot be said in explanation that this was chiefly due to a lack of 
intellectual ability. It was simply because the medieval mind did not 
know how to ask questions of such documents. Dante bitterly deplored 
the gift, but did not dream that it had never taken place. He exclaimed, 
" Ah, Constantine ! of how much ill was mother, not thy conversion, but 
that dowry which the first rich Father received from thee." 

In the next century, however, a bold humanist, Lorenzo Valla, de- 
clared it to be spurious. The Magdeburg Centuriators also attacked 
the Decretals. With the more recent perfection of the tools of criticism, 
there have been discovered many curious facts in regard to the collec- 
tion. Their form does not correspond to the official form of such 
documents in the particular papal reigns to which the compiler assigned 
them. This diplomatics has shown. They use a method of dating 
which chronology has proved to be unhistorical. Although they sup- 
posedly belong to different centuries, their Latin style remains the same, 
and this the Frankish Latin of the ninth century. Philology has con- 
tributed this. It has also been found that their quotations from the 
scriptures were from the version of Jerome, amended during the 
time of Charlemagne, and that they contain passages taken bodily from 
a Frankish council of 829. Finally, they imply the view that the 
theology of the ninth century was the theology of the second, and 
that the early bishops of Rome exercised the same wide juris- 
diction as the ninth-century popes. Although there is some disagree- 
ment among the critics, it is probable that the collection originated 
in the diocese of Rheims between 847 and 865. Such an illustration 
plainly shows that the tools of criticism are not for the amusement of 
the learned world, but for the building of historical knowledge upon solid 
foundations. E. Emerton, Mediaeval Europe, 78 ff. P. S chaff, History 



36 FOUNDATIONS OF HISTORICAL SCHOLARSHIP 

This principle recognised the difficulty of discovering the thing 
itself through the medium by which knowledge of it had been 
transmitted. It recognised the still greater difficulty of reach- 
ing the true story of any people's early development through 
the fragmentary records which have been handed down. 
Ancient and mediaeval history, from being a field easy to ex- 
plore because of the comparatively few writings that have been 
preserved, becomes for that very reason one of the most 
difficult fields. The men who followed Niebuhr have been 
faithful to the same need of asking intelligent questions of their 
witnesses. It is this which distinguishes the modern historical 
school from its predecessors. 

The teacher in the schools can make little use of collections 
of sources, except for later English or American history, and 

, -, ^ vet a few glimpses into the great laboratory of his- 
The Teacher J & r o , . , 

and the torical investigation should quicken his apprehen- 

Sources. g . Qn Q ^ w j iat historical scholarship implies. In his 

preparation for the work of instruction he may ask critical ques- 
tions of the books he uses, rejecting those which do not bear 
the marks of scholarly fidelity. If he learns in this way how to 
make a more careful use of books, his own teaching will gain in 
authority and interest. Occasionally also, as he uses the smaller 
collections of sources in teaching, he will realise how serious is 
the task of adequately interpreting them. 1 

The work of collecting material and the work of critically 
sifting it has been gradually lifting the veil from the past, and 
has been setting the present in its true perspective. Such work 
has made possible the use of history by the teacher as one of 
the most effective means of showing boys and girls where they 
stand in the long march of humanity, of revealing to them the 
meaning of their lives, and of giving to them some of those in- 



of the Christian Church, IV. 268 ff. Bernheim, 254 ff. For examples 
of critical investigation in American History, see Henry Adams' Cap- 
taine John Smith in his Historical Essays, and E. G. Bourne's Legend 
of Marcus Whitman in his Essays in Historical Criticism. 
1 Fling, Outline of Historical Method. 



FOUNDATIONS OF HISTORICAL SCHOLARSHIP 37 

tellectual interests and sympathies which are a part of true cul- 
ture. Furthermore, the knowledge that such work has been 
done, and is now being actively pushed forward, should give the 
teacher a stimulating sense of fellowship which comes from the 
consciousness of being one worker among thousands, all en- 
gaged in the common task of preserving the memory of human 
experience, some by collecting and editing manuscripts, others 
by writing books based on these materials, and still others by 
training the young adequately to enter by imagination into the 
great world which gives the present its meaning. 



CHAPTER III 

HISTORY IN FRENCH AND GERMAN SCHOOLS 

BIBLIOGRAPHY. 

Bolton, E. E. The Secondary School System of Germany. New- 
York, Appleton. 1900. The work in history and geography is de- 
scribed pp. 235-250. 

Haskins, C. H. History in the French Lycees. Pp. 198-209 of the 
Report of the Committee of Seven on History in Schools. 

Jager, O. Didaktik und Methodikdes Geschichtsunterrichts. (From 
Baumeister's Handbuch der Erziehungs- und Unterrichtslehre fur hohere 
Schulen.) Munich. 1895. P P- II0 - 

Kornrumpf, E. Methodisches Handbuch fiir den deutschen Ge- 
schichtsunterricht in der Volksschule. 3 vols. Leipzig. 1893. ^ e " 
tailed treatment of the whole course of study. 

Langlois and Seignotaos. Pp. 325-346. The Secondary Teaching 
of History in France. 

Lavisse, E. A propos de nos Iscoles. Paris. 1895. Pp. 77-107 con- 
sider the teaching of history. 

Paulsen, F. Geschichte der gelehrten Unterrichts auf den deutschen 
Schulen und Universitaten vom Ausgang des Mittelalters bis zur Gegen- 
wart. Leipzig. 1885. 

Pizard, A. L'Histoire dans l'Enseignement primaire. Paris. 1894. 

Russell, J. E. German Higher Schools. New York and London, 
Longmans, Green & Co. 1899. Pp. 291-31 1 describe the instruction 
in history and geography. 

Salmon, Lucy A. History in the German Gymnasia. Pp. 173-198 
in Report of the Committee of Seven. 

From even so brief a sketch of historical studies it is apparent 
with what increasing curiosity and intelligence men have turned 
History in toward history. It is strange, therefore, that this 
the Schools, subject has been one of the latest to gain recogni- 
tion as a necessary element in every adequate curriculum. In 
America such recognition has been granted more tardily than 
in France and Germany, although not more tardily than in Eng- 
land, where the curiously complex organization of the schools 



HISTORY IN FRENCH AND GERMAN SCHOOLS 39 

accounts in part for such neglect. It is not so surprising in our 
own case, because a people with a past so brief that they are 
unable easily to note the slow transformation of their institu- 
tions are not forced to reflect upon the causes of striking con- 
trasts, and, consequently, neither reach the historical attitude 
of mind, nor appreciate how important a part of the real world 
about them are the relations of this world to the conditions out 
of which it has come. They are inclined to look upon a knowl- 
edge of history as a polite accomplishment. This has been 
particularly easy for us, because of the very slight relations of 
our country to historic Europe and its struggles since the end 
of the Napoleonic wars. Possibly there is also a bit of the revo- 
lutionist's contempt for a past from which he has revolted. 1 
Whatever be the reason for the tardy recognition of the subject, 
its importance will appear in a clearer light by an examination 
of its place in the school systems of France and Germany. 

Although only in the nineteenth century have these countries 
created well-organized school systems, it is interesting to note 
the influences which retarded or promoted the study ^^ Earl 
of history in the schools before the century opened. German 
The effect of both Renaissance and Reformation vmc um ' 
was to concentrate attention upon linguistic studies. Luther 
believed in history, but he believed more deeply in language, 
because it was through language that the Bible was to be made 
an open book for the Germans. The Humanists, because of 
their great appreciation of the classics, easily fell into the mistake 
of unduly emphasizing language study as the gate to the classics. 
Sturm, the great schoolmaster of the age, had no place for his- 
tory in his curriculum. In the latter part of the century, and 
again after the conclusion of the Thirty Years' War, history began 
to receive recognition by the " Ritter Academic," or school for 

1 In a critical review of American education, Gabriel Campayre, the 
well-known French writer on the history of education, etc., remarks : 
" Is this not because the practical American, absorbed by his care for the 
present and future, is indifferent to a past which he disdains, and cannot 
see the use of studying the Old World ? " Rep. U. S. Bureau of Educa- 
tion, 1895-96, p. 1 173. 



40 HISTORY IN FRENCH AND GERMAN SCHOOLS 

the sons of noblemen, as one of those studies necessary for the 
training of the " gallant " man. Leibnitz believed that the ad- 
mission of any subject to the " curriculum must be determined 
by the needs of the pupils in relation to the demands of public 
life." x Such a view was naturally favourable to the cause of his- 
tory. About the same time even the Latin schools were obliged 
to recognise the " gallant " studies, for the sons of the aristoc- 
racy would otherwise employ private tutors in their preparation 
for the University. These courses were treated as additions to 
the ordinary courses, and were paid for separately, but it was 
not a long step from this to their incorporation in the regular 
curriculum. 2 

Little was done with history in the French schools before the 
Revolution. In the eighteenth century the subject was chiefly 

prized as furnishing necessary instruction in govern- 
In France. F . ° r . ; . b . j 

ment to princes and fitting themes for the rhetori- 
cal essays of " les beaux esprits." The Revolutionists, although 
they recognised its importance, endeavoured to enslave the 
subject to their cause, offering chiefly the history of the Revo- 
lution itself, and, besides, enough industrial and commercial 
history to promote the progress of French youths in the indus- 
trial arts. 3 

History could not, however, attain an adequate position in 
the schools until the scope of the subject had been well defined 

and the foundations of historical knowledge more 
Preliminary ,.,„,, . . • i i i- ■ 

Work by securely laid. The universities had a preliminary 

universities. wQrk tQ p er f orm? an d this work was not merely one 
of investigation. Through the scholars whom they trained, 
they must direct the treatment of the subject, setting each fact 
in its true perspective and pointing out the lights and the 
shadows. Only after this had been done, could the schools 
place the subject in its proper relations to the rest of the 
curriculum. For these reasons history waited until the rise 
of the modern historical school before it could receive 

1 Russell, 56. 2 Paulsen, 379. 8 Pizard, 5. 



HISTORY IN FRENCH AND GERMAN SCHOOLS 41 

adequate recognition at the hands of makers of courses of 

study. 

With the reorganization of Germany, and the gradual rise of 

Prussia to a position of leadership, the German school system 

entered upon an era of steady development. In T t . 

r \ In the TJme- 

r ranee progress was interrupted by a succession of teenthCen- 

political changes. No history was taught under the tury * 

Empire or the Restoration. Through Guizot's influence, it was 

introduced into the upper schools after the Revolution of 1830, 

only to be again driven out by the Second Empire. But when 

Napoleon III. was compelled to yield to liberal influences, the 

historian Duruy, his minister of education, introduced history 

successively into the secondary and the primary schools. 

In order to understand the place history holds in the pro- 
grammes of either France or Germany, it is necessary first to 
see how the schools are organized. Neither of 
these systems is as democratic as our own. In many 

Germany there are two 1 principal classes of schools, each with 
its own constituency, and governed by an aim determined by 
the supposed destiny of its constituents. The People's schools, 
or the Volkschule, offer the children of the common people 
a course of study which is believed best to meet their needs 
and which is intended to occupy them eight years, from the 
age of six to that of fourteen, or from seven to fifteen. Over 
against these schools stand the secondary schools, which 
receive the children of the more fortunate, and by a course 
lasting from six to nine years, beginning with the age of nine, 
prepare them either for the university, for official, or business 
life. 

Although the objects of the various secondary schools differ, 
they may nevertheless be grouped together because they agree 
in assigning a similar amount of time to the study of history, 
and in offering practically the same course of study, with one 

1 Strictly speaking, there is a third, the Burger or Middle schools, 
but they are not so distinct from the People's schools as to require 
explanation here. 



42 HISTORY IN FRENCH AND GERMAN SCHOOLS 

section of it omitted in the six-year schools. The attendance 
at these schools in Prussia is only about three per cent of the 
attendance at the People's schools. Such a fact emphasizes 
the importance of the work done by the People's schools, and 
yet it would be wrong to belittle in comparison what is done in 
the secondary schools, for these furnish the makers of public 
opinion. 

In France there is a similar distinction between two great 
groups of schools. There are the elementary primary schools, 
attended by the majority of the school-going popu- 
lation, and the secondary schools, including the 
lycees and the communal colleges. 

As these schools each serve a different sort of children, 

the object of teaching history differs also in each, although its 

largest element in all is the training for patriotism. 
Aim. r^, . 

The motive from patriotism comes out most strongly 

in the case of the Prussian People's schools. It is summed up 
in a widely circulated work for teachers in the following words : 
to " display to the child the beneficent strivings and successes 
of our noble princely family, the great deeds of our people, in 
order to implant in the heart of the child love and holy enthu- 
siasm for Emperor, King, people and fatherland." In the 
course of study laid out for these schools, the same emphasis is 
apparent. This is a course in German history, and particularly 
in the modern period, for if the circumstances of any school 
require that the course be shortened, this is to be accomplished 
by setting out from a later point. In the upper grades, " the 
services of the Prussian rulers in promoting the welfare of the 
people are to be especially emphasized." * 

Neither in Prussia nor in the other states of Germany does 
the emphasis placed upon the fatherland imply that the 

achievements of foreign nations are ignored. Dr. 
Wot Narrow. _ . . ° . , 

Rem asserts that the Germans are in no danger 

of such narrowness, for they have a clear cosmopolitan ten- 



Fr. Nadler, Rathgeber fur Volkschullehrer, 489, 490. 



HISTORY IN FRENCH AND GERMAN SCHOOLS 43 

dency, and he adds that the limitation means only that the 
history of a foreign nation will be given whenever it throws 
light on the development of Germany rather than for its own 
sake. 1 It is evident, as another writer remarks, that the setting 
of German history makes necessary the incidental study of 
much of the general history of Europe. These men argue that 
as it is impossible to cover the whole field without reducing the 
subject to a mere mass of names and dates, it is important to 
choose that part already interesting to the pupils, and not even 
all of that, for fear of wrecking the enterprise by the mere 
weight of the matter. If the work in history is to have bene- 
ficial results in the growth of character and of patriotism, the 
pupil must be brought into contact at many points with actual 
men, their struggles and their achievements, so that his judg- 
ment and his feelings will constantly be called into activity. 2 

Since the classical gymnasium, the most influential of the 
secondary schools, and, in a measure, the real-gymnasium, also 
fits for the university, it is not as natural that in object in tlie 
these schools the emphasis should be placed upon Gymnasium, 
the development of patriotism. The object of history teaching, 
as set forth in the Prussian plan of 1882, " is to arouse in the 
pupils a respect for the moral greatness of individual men and 
nations, to make them conscious of their own imperfect insight, 
and to give them the ability to read understanding^ the greatest 
historical classics." 3 But according to the plan of 1892, a 
particular emphasis is to be placed on German and Prussian 
history. Moreover, during the sixth year of the course, an 
opportunity is seized to bring into view "our social and 
industrial development up to 1888, emphasizing the services 
of the Hohenzollerns, especially in the fostering of the interests 
of middle and working classes." 4 An effort is to be made 
to counteract the socialistic agitation, which has become so 



1 Das filnfte Schuljahr, 31-32. 

2 Kornrumpf, I., Introduction, ii-iv. 

3 Quoted by Russell, 294. 

4 Lehrpldne und Lehraufgabm (official),, 47. 



44 HISTORY IN FRENCH AND GERMAN SCHOOLS 

strong in Germany, by showing historically how the different 
orders of society originated, and that there has been a steady 
betterment of the condition of the working classes. The 
services of the Hohenzollerns in bringing this to pass are to be 
explained. Although the other German states do not insist 
so strongly upon the patriotic aims of historical teaching, they 
keep in the foreground German and local history. 

A similar purpose is embodied in the programmes of the 
French elementary and secondary schools. But in the instruc- 
in French ^ ons which accompanied the programme of 1891, 
Schools. Professor Lavisse declared it the function of history 

to give the student a clear notion both of " his duties as a 
Frenchman and of his duties as a man." In order that such 
an aim may be realized, the pupil is to receive "an exact 
idea of successive civilizations, and a precise knowledge of 
the formation and of the development of France,' 7 including 
the action and reaction of each upon the other. Professor 
Lavisse also says : " No country has been moved more than 
France by influences from without, since it is a mingling of 
races and since at its origin it received from Rome and from 
Germany a diverse training. On the contrary, no country has 
acted more than ours upon the world. We have never been, 
we shall never be particularists. It is a part of our profession 
as Frenchmen to love humanity and to serve it. The knowl- 
edge of general history is then indispensable to us." J These 
are noble words, and they certainly express the ideals of 
enlightened Frenchmen, however far removed they sound from 
the mouthings of certain noisy agitators. 

In both French and German programmes history receives an 
adequate amount of time. This is due to a recognition of the 
Element of f act tnat ^ tne P U P^' S knowledge is to be something 
Time. better than a shallow familiarity with scattered facts, 

his attention must be directed toward historical events continu- 
ously through successive years, as his experience becomes 



1 Lavisse, 81. 



HISTORY IN FRENCH AND GERMAN SCHOOLS 45 

broader. He will in this way form the habit of thinking his- 
torically, and the natural interest every healthy-minded child 
feels in the world of events will be nourished, and may grow 
into one of the enduring forces of his intellectual life. 

In the elementary schools the work with history begins with 
the third or fourth year of the child's school life and continues 
to the end. During the whole period the French schools give 
two hours a week to the subject, in addition to what is assigned 
to civics and geography, subjects treated as closely related to 
history. The German schools give approximately the same 
amount of weekly attention. In the French secondary school, 
history is granted an hour and a half a week for three years, 
after which it receives between two and three hours. A little 
more weekly time is given in Germany. The Prussian plan, 
for example, provides for one hour the first two years, two 
hours the succeeding four, and three the final three. In this 
last section an amount of time not closely calculated must be 
used for the related subject of geography. 

In considering the content of the programmes, it is first 
necessary to note their general structure. The German pro- 
gramme for the elementary schools is arranged in content of 
chronological order, starting out with the early his- ihe Course, 
tory of the Germans, the story of Hermann, of Henry the 
Fowler, and the' like ; and the history of Germany is brought 
down to the accession of William II. The French give the chil- 
dren, of from seven to nine years of age, stories and familiar con- 
versations on the great characters of France up to the time of 
the One Hundred Years' War. From the age of nine to the age 
of eleven the children study the succeeding period, to the pres- 
ent day. The last two years of school life are spent in a course 
on general history covering the whole subject and bringing out 
the relations of great events to the history of France. This 
plan is open to the criticism that it keeps the children too long 
on a period so remote from modern times that they may lose 
their interest in the subject before they study modern France. 
And yet it may be that the mediaeval man, because his charac- 



46 HISTORY IN FRENCH AND GERMAN SCHOOLS 

teristics belong to a simple type, is closer to the experience of 
the child than many a later hero. At all events, the plan has 
the advantage that it gives the child a more comprehensive view 
of history than the German system, and is less likely to lend 
itself to a narrow patriotism. 

In the French secondary school the subject is treated twice : 
once, during the first three years on its more elementary side 
and with the attention fixed almost wholly on France, and 
second, from the fourth year to the end as the " History of 
Europe and of France." The classical course devotes a year 
longer to ancient, chiefly to Greek, history, but otherwise the 
instruction is the same as that in the "Modern" course. 1 

The programme of the German secondary school is much 
more elaborate. It is arranged roughly in three concentric 

„ circles, or, rather, in a spiral which, when it returns 
Structure of ' ' . 

German Pro- on itself, returns at a higher level. The work dur- 
gramme. -^ ^ ^ rgt Q f ^ Q threefold division is not, in the 

strict sense of the word, history. It is rather a preparation for 
history. The child at the age of nine has little notion of the lapse 
of time, so that he can form hardly any of those ideas upon 
which history depends. 2 Nor does he know enough of the earth 
and its spaces to locate the deeds of its inhabitants, or to put 
their elements together in an intelligible whole. While he is 
studying the legends of Greece and Rome, or of Germany and 
France, and following them with the tales of mediaeval or mod- 
ern heroes, he is enriching his vocabulary and is filling his mind 
with images which later are to serve as the current coin for 
much of his intellectual dealings with real history. It would be 
more accurate to say, therefore, that there are two concentric 
circles. In the first, the pupil learns to bring many detached 
facts into a whole, chronologically arranged. He succeeds in 
creating in its simple outlines the picture of a nation's total ex- 
perience. This he does when in Latin he is beginning to read 
books, not words, and when similarly, in other subjects, his 



1 Plans d'fitudes. Paris. 1900, 1901. - Jager, 18. 



HISTORY IN FRENCH AND GERMAN SCHOOLS 47 

thoughts are being directed towards wholes, rather than frag- 
ments. When for the second time he wanders over the ground 
once more, he may fix his attention upon those things which 
from the point of view of his own enlarged experience he is 
able for the first time to comprehend. During this last stage he 
can use what he has learned before effectively in making com- 
parisons, in analyzing social conditions and political institutions, 
and in learning the general history of civilization. 

The new Prussian programme, unlike most of the other plans, 
begins with the heroic figures of modern Germany, and through 
the first and the second years works back to the Prussian 
stories of Greece and Rome. In the third year, Programme, 
when the boy has reached the age of eleven or twelve, he is to 
take up a systematic study of Greek and Roman history, with 
some attention to the important facts about the Oriental peo- 
ples. During the next three years the history of Europe is 
studied, becoming more and more the history of Germany and of 
the House of Hohenzollern. 1 Formerly it had been customary 
to bring this German history to a close at the end of the fifth 
year, leaving a better opportunity for the re-study, from the 
higher point of view, of ancient history. In the second year of 
the new course, a greater emphasis is laid on general history 
than in the corresponding part of the previous review, but in the 
third year the emphasis is again placed upon the history of 
Brandenburg- Prussia. 

The Jena programme, which is one of the most carefully 
worked out in Germany, differs from the Prussian plan in that 
the second year is given to the elementary study of 
German history, and that the second review ends 
at the end of the fifth year, opening the sixth year to Greek, and 
seventh to Roman history. 

The most significant feature of the German programmes is the 
careful way in which various subjects are correlated. History is 
grouped with geography ; in some years no separate assignment 

1 The six-year schools, or realschule, have the same programme as 
the first six grades of the nine-year schools, gymnasia, or oberrealschule. 



48 HISTORY IN FRENCH AND GERMAN SCHOOLS 

of hours being made for the two subjects on the time table, 
although in actual teaching the two are kept more distinct. Cer- 
tain parts of geography gain their importance and 
Correlation. r , u . 7 • i * a r *i 

meaning from historical events and from those pres- 
ent conditions which seek their causes in history. A closely 
related treatment of the two subjects is therefore reasonable. 
Even " the more important facts of physical geography, meteor- 
ology and geology, are generally carefully expounded as a partial 
explanation of political and social conditions." 1 The correla- 
tion extends beyond geography. For example, according to 
the Jena programme, while the sixth class is studying Greek and 
Roman history, it is reading Xenophon and Herodotus, Cicero, 
Virgil, and Livy. The seventh-year pupils begin with early 
mediaeval history, and in " religion " they study the Apostolic 
Age. In this year also, they study the Nibelungenlied. In the 
next year they study the Reformation in " religion " as well as 
in history. It should be noted that the followers of Herbart 
found in history and literature the core about which they 
have grouped or concentrated all the other subjects of the 
curriculum. 2 

The method of teaching history is more elaborately developed 
in Germany than in France. In both, teachers make an effec- 
Methods of tive use °f pictures. The French have their Albums 
Teaching. historiques, and the Germans their Kulturgeschicht- 
liche Bilderbiicher and the like. These collections of pictures 
are carefully made, so that they may convey a correct impres- 
sion of actual conditions or events. Fanciful pictures are gen- 
erally excluded. Teachers are sometimes warned against the 
danger of an over-use of pictures, for these often satisfy the 
imagination and check its healthy activity, so that in place of a 
rich and varied whole, the pupil merely possesses in his mind 
the recollection of one or two pictures. 

There is another way of giving reality to the facts of history, 



1 Russell, 297-298. Cf. for a somewhat different view of the extent 
to which correlation is carried, Bolton, 237 ff. 

2 DeGarmo, Herbart, 118 ff. 



HISTORY IN FRENCH AND GERMAN SCHOOLS 49 

and a way which may be taken in so historic a land as either 

Germany or France. Excursions are organized to scenes 

within easy reach of the school. For example, at 

_ . .. . . . . , , Excursions. 

Leipzig, the students may visit the battle-ground 

of the "nations" east of the city, or they may go north a few 
miles to the spot where Gustavus Adolphus fell. " In the heart 
of the city is Auerbach's cellar, where Goethe places a scene in 
Faust. In other parts may be found Goethe's residence when a 
student, Schiller's residence, the Pleisseburg Castle, the old 
city hall (eight hundred years old), and scores of other land- 
marks." 1 What is true of Leipzig is true of many other towns 
in Germany and France. It would be difficult for European 
boys not to get into the historical attitude, if they possess an 
intelligent curiosity. 

Germany and France differ in the method of imparting his- 
torical knowledge. In the People's schools of Germany the 
instruction is oral. Its success therefore depends 0ral 
almost wholly upon the ability of the teacher to Instruction, 
give an instructive and interesting narrative. The problem is 
somewhat simplified because the course of study contains biog- 
raphy as its principal element. The tales are first related by 
the teacher and then repeated by the pupils until they are 
mastered. 2 



1 Bolton, 242-243. 

2 Dr. Klemm in his European Schools, 24, 25, describes one lesson 
he heard in a Rhenish-Prussian school, corresponding to the sixth grade 
of our American schools. " First a biographical narrative was given by 
the teacher, who spoke in very simple, appi'opriate language, but feelingly, 
with the glow of enthusiasm and the chest-tone of conviction. He made 
each pupil identify himself with the hero of the story. The map was 
frequently used or referred to. Bits of poetry, taken from the reader, 
were interwoven, and circumstances of our time, as well as persons of 
very recent history, were mentioned at proper occasions. The attention 
was breathless. 

" Secondly, the story was then repeated by pupils who were now and 
then interrupted by leading questions. The answers were again used to 
develop new thoughts not brought out by the first narration. Particu- 
larly was it cause and effect, and the moral value of certain historical 
actions which claimed the attention of the teacher. To me it was very 



50 HISTORY IN FRENCH AND GERMAN SCHOOLS 

A similar method is used in the secondary schools, except 
that it is adapted to a different situation, and to a situation 
which changes radically between the first of the nine years and 
the last. Brief text-books (Leitfaden) are put in the hands of 
the students. At first this instruction consists of a very simple 
narration, but in the seventh, eighth, and ninth years it develops 
into the more elaborate form of a lecture. Here, as in the Peo- 
ple's schools, everything depends upon the instructor. It is 
conceivable that certain classes may sit spellbound, listening to 
an inspiring narrator, while others may be beaten into a leaden 
stupor by a confused and colourless treatment of the subject. 
This accounts for the wide difference in the reports which ob- 
servers of this method bring back. As Professor Russell sums 
up the matter : " In certain schools which I could mention the 
work is undoubtedly of a high order ; the scholars are deeply 
interested, and the results are eminently satisfactory. Still, it 
must be remembered that in many schools — I fear in the great 
majority of them — the work is purely formal and disconnected, 
unrelated and exceedingly uninteresting. ... I confess to hav- 
ing heard lessons — many of them — which were soporific in 
the extreme ; and so unusual was it in my experience to find a 
good teacher of history, that I often despaired of seeing the 
German system at its best." l 

In France, after the introduction of history into the curricu- 



instructive to see these children search for analogous cases in human life 
as they knew it. 

" Thirdly, the pupils were led to search in their stores of historical 
knowledge for analogous cases, or cases of decided contrast. This gave 
me an insight into the extent of their knowledge. When, for instance, 
certain civil virtues were spoken of, they mentioned cases which revealed 
a very laudable familiarity with history. But all their knowledge had 
been grouped around a certain number of centres — that is to say, of 
great men. That is to say, their historical knowledge had been gained 
through biographies. 

" Fourthly, the pupils were told to write, in a connected narration, what 
they had just learned. This proved a fertile composition exercise, be- 
cause the pupils had something to write about — a thing that is not quite 
so frequent in schools as it seems desirable." 

1 Russell, 309-310. 



HISTORY IN FRENCH AND GERMAN SCHOOLS 5 I 

lum by Duruy, there was great difficulty in getting the teachers 
to adopt any other method than the slavish learning by heart 
of a text-book. By a sort of reaction against this, French 
an attempt was afterwards made to take up the Experience. 
German system of oral instruction. This did not succeed, 
because it was impossible to transform all the teachers into 
good narrators. The French now rely, much more than even the 
German secondary schools, upon a well-constructed text-book. 
Fortunately some of the ablest men belonging to the new 
school of critical historians have undertaken to prepare ade- 
quate text-books, so that gradually the teachers are finding 
close at hand the instruments for effective instruction. The 
text-book is not the end of the matter with them, but only the 
beginning. Accordingly all sorts of teaching may be observed 
in French schools. 1 



1 In his Questions d> enseignement Professor Lavisse gives an example 
of excellent teaching which he observed in a primary school in Paris. 
The master, who was somewhat inexperienced, did not discover the 
true way to make feudal society interesting and comprehensible to 
children of eight. He began to talk to them of the inheritance of 
offices and of privileges. Just then the director came in, interrupted 
the master with the question, " Who has seen a chateau of the feudal 
time?" No one replied. The master, turning to a boy who lives in 
the faubourg St. Antoine, asks, " Have you never been to Vincennes? " 
— "Yes, sir." — "Well, then, you have seen a chateau of the feudal 
time." Here was a starting-point found in the present. " What sort of 
a building is this chateau?" Several children answer at once. The 
master picks out one, takes him to the board, gets him to draw a sketch, 
which he corrects. He marks the notches in the wall. " What is that ? " 
No one knew. He defines a battlement. " What was its object ? " He 
leads them to discover that it was for defence. " What did they fight 
with,— with guns ? " Most of the class : " No, sir." " With what ? " A 
learned little fellow, from far down in the class, cries out, " With bows." 
" What is a bow ? " Ten voices reply, " Sir, it is an arbalet." The 
master smiles and shows the difference. Then he explains how hard it 
was with bows and even with the war engines of the time to take a high 
and thick-walled chateau ; and, continuing : " When you become workmen, 
good workmen, if you travel to find work or for pleasure, you will see ruins 
of chateaux." He names Montlhery and other ruins in the neighbourhood 
of Paris. From this point by questions he leads them to see how the lords 
spent their lives, how their interminable wars injured the peasants, how 
the Church brought about the Truce of God, the differences between petty 



52 HISTORY IN FRENCH AND GERMAN SCHOOLS 

One of the most important features of both French and Ger- 
man systems is the care taken that all teachers shall be qualified 
Training of to do their work. The desire to earn a living is 
Teachers. not regarded as the chief qualification. In France 
there are three types of normal schools, one for the training of 
candidates for positions in the elementary schools, a second for 
the training of teachers for the first set of normal schools, and 
a third for the training of teachers for the secondary schools. 1 
Of the first, there is one in nearly every department. The 
programme includes a course in history and civics continued 
three hours a week for three years. The first two terms of the 
first year are devoted to the Orient, to Greece and to Rome ; 
the third term to the early part of the Middle Ages. The 
second year brings the course down to 1789, and the third 
year to the present day. It is to be remembered that those 
who enter this school must pass ah examination on the history 
of France, and that they have had at least the course of history 
provided in the elementary schools. It is obvious that the 
schools which prepare teachers for these normal schools do 
even more advanced work in history. At the summit of the 
system is the great Paris Normal School ( Ecole Normale Supe'- 
rieure). It is almost enough to say of this school that among 
its graduates have been such distinguished historians as Taine, 
Rambaud, Monod, Lavisse, Luchaire, and Seignobos, and that 
some of these men are still its professors, to show the unusual 
opportunities it offers for training in history. "The object ot 
the work is to make the students masters ot their subjects, and 
in becoming such to acquire experience and facility in present' 



and great lords, and the relation of all to the king,, and how sometimes 
the peasants, maddened by oppression, rose and murdered the lords, 
their wives and children. The lesson lasted half an hour, and Lavisse 
remarks at the close, " Form your masters like this one." Pizard, op. 
cit. 230 ff. A translation of the whole passage is printed in Payne's 
edition of Compayre's Lectures on Teaching, 355-357- Pizard gives 
descriptions of two other actual lessons in history, pp. 232 ff. 

1 Lucy M. Salmon, Educational Review, XX. 387 ff. Pizard, 
114 ff. 



HISTORY IN FRENCH AND GERMAN SCHOOLS 53 

ing various parts of it to others in a clear, forcible, and artistic 
manner." x 

The Germans are not less careful in their endeavour to reach 
similar results. Their schools for candidates for positions 
in the elementary school are sufficiently like the 
French schools to need no separate explanation. 
For secondary school teachers, they rely upon their universities, 
rather than upon any single school like the Ecole Normale. 
The candidates must not only present evidence of adequate 
university training, they must pass a special state examination, 
which is often more severe than the university examination 
for the doctorate. These severe conditions have raised the 
teacher's profession to the level of the other professions. The 
Germans are justly proud of this state of affairs. 

Many of the teachers in the German secondary schools have 
also been trained in the special seminaries provided in connec- 
tion with the university courses. These seminaries "seminary" 
were not founded to serve this purpose, although it Gaining. 
is not inconsistent with their original aim . They grew out of 
that more intelligent interest in the materials from which his- 
tory must be written, created by the school of historical in- 
vestigators early in the century. The most notable of them, 
Ranke, had been trained in the seminaries of Beck and 
Hermann, voluntary organizations which had been devised to 
give actual practice in philological studies. When Ranke was 
called to Berlin in 1824 as assistant professor of history, his 
friend Karl von Raumer, a professor of mineralogy, who had 
done much to improve the methods of teaching his own sub- 
ject, advised him to arrange "practice courses" in history. 
Ranke wrote him in 1825 that he had followed his advice. 2 
Ranke believed that such courses should be offered particularly 
to students who felt "within themselves the impulse and call 
to take active part in the advancement of science," although 

1 Salmon, Educational Review, XX. 387 ff. 

2 Bourne, Edward G., " Ranke and the Beginning of the Seminary 
Method in History," Essays in Historical Criticism, 265-274. 



54 HISTORY IN FRENCH AND GERMAN SCHOOLS 

he did not intend that all others should be rigidly excluded 
from them. 

Among Ranke's first students were Waitz, Giesebrecht, Sybel, 
and Wattenbach, who soon made Germany the seat of critical 
historical scholarship, using the " seminary" as their most 
effective means. 1 Many of the ambitious young men who had 
been trained in these seminaries went into the secondary 
schools, distinctly raising the standard of scholarship. 

Any examination of either the French or German treatment 
of history gives the impression that the educational leaders of 
these peoples regard the subject as an important 
part of every well-arranged programme. Further- 
more they keep it before the pupil during his entire school life, 
except at the very beginning, when he is too young to understand 
events in their time and space relations. And they do not keep 
his attention fixed on the national history alone. It is true, 
little else is taught in the German People's schools, and yet 
even the national history of Germany involves the history of 
other countries. They also intrust the teaching of history to 
persons who have been adequately trained. Although in many 



1 Professor E. Emerton remarks further in regard to these seminaries : 
" Here it is that the professor reveals himself to his select pupils as with 
them. He is at work upon inquiries which are to bear fruit in his own 
publications, and these young men are made to feel that they are con- 
tributing personally, by their researches, to the completion of these 
works." Later he speaks of the seminary of the elder Droysen in 
Berlin: "The criticism was free and unrestrained to the verge of 
savagery. I well remember one unhappy youth, who ought never to 
have been there, whose productions were received with a mixture of 
derision and scathing logical analysis which, to a member of a less 
thick-skinned race, would have been torture." Pp. 34 ff. For the semi- 
naries of Waitz and others, see Paul Fredericq, E Enseignement snperieur 
de VHistoire, Paris, 1899, p. 12. A translation appears in the Johns 
Hopkins U?iiversity Studies, I. The founders of the system were in- 
clined to protest when the seminary began to lose its somewhat private 
and personal character, and when gratuities were offered attracting 
students to enroll themselves among its members. This, Waitz declared, 
opened the exercise to a crowd of mediocrities who had no call to 
become actual investigators. Nevertheless, such men might become use- 
ful and effective teachers. 



HISTORY IN FRENCH AND GERMAN SCHOOLS 55 

individual cases American teaching may equal, or even exceed, 
French and German teaching of history, we have much to learn 
from their management of the subject. 1 



1 For the study of history in the English secondary schools, see 
Report of the Committee of Seven, 210 ff. Formerly very little work 
in history was done in the Board schools, which in a sense correspond to 
our public schools, but recent statistics show much improvement in this 
respect. 



CHAPTER IV 

HISTORY IN AMERICAN SCHOOLS 

BIBLIOGRAPHY. 1 

Adams, H. B. History in American Colleges and Universities. 
Pp. 299. Washington. Bureau of Education. 1887. 

Committee of Seven. History in Schools. Pp. 137-167. New York, 
The Macmillan Co. 1899. 

Committee of Ten. New York, American Book Co. 

Hall, G-. Stanley, and others. Methods of Teaching History, par- 
ticularly pp. 31 ff., 73 ff., 167 ff., 215 ff. Second edition. Boston, 
D. C. Heath and Co. 1895. 

Thorpe, F. N. History in American Schools, in Education, VII. 
234-243- 

It is only within the last ten or fifteen years that the makers 
of American programmes have given serious attention to the 
Campaign for question of inserting in the curriculum of the schools 
History. adequate courses in history. Since 1892 a vigorous 

campaign has been carried on against the neglect of so impor- 
tant a subject, with the result that at the present time the doors 
of the curriculum are being everywhere opened to it. A short 
sketch of this campaign, and of the condition of history teach- 
ing both before and after, will clear the way for a better discus- 
sion of the extent to which history should be admitted into the 
curriculum of the elementary school and of the secondary 
school. 

The schools could not be expected to do much with this 
subject before the colleges had organized the higher instruction 
in Early in it. Until the middle of the nineteenth century 

Colleges. even t | ie better colleges usually provided for in- 

struction in history by adding such work to the duties of some 



1 For further references, see footnotes and Wyer. 



HISTORY IN AMERICAN SCHOOLS $7 

other chair. For example, Rev. John McVickar, of Columbia, 
taught history as a part of his work as professor of philosophy. 
And even after Columbia had possessed in the distinguished 
Francis Lieber a professor of history for eight years, from 1857 
to 1865, this separate chair was withdrawn, and the work was 
turned over to the professorship of English and philosophy. 
Sometimes history was treated still worse, and was pushed from 
teacher to teacher, or even torn in pieces and distributed 
among several teachers, after the manner of English in some 
secondary schools. Occasionally history fared better than would 
appear from the precise words of the college programme. In 
Yale President Stiles was appointed professor of Ecclesiastical 
History in 1778, and held this chair until his death in 1795. 
There is " abundant evidence," says Professor Dexter, " that 
his (Stiles) interpretation of the field of ecclesiastical history 
was a very wide one ; it was simply that he, an ecclesiastic, 
taught general history." x 

The first separate chair of history was established at Harvard 
in 1839 with Jared Sparks as professor. Columbia and the 
University of Michigan followed in 1857, and Yale in 1865. The 
chair of history which was removed by Columbia in 1865 was re- 
stored in 1876, and four years later it was decided to establish 
a School of Political Science, strengthening the work in history 
by associating it with related subjects. About the same time 
the University of Michigan opened a similar school. Mean- 
while both Johns Hopkins and Cornell universities had been 
founded, institutions which from the beginning did much to pro- 
mote work of a high order in history. 

The colleges did something more than furnish a good general 
education in history. Americans who had gone to Germany 
with the purpose of better preparing themselves to F i rst « Sem _ 
teach the subject in their institutions at home Varies." 
brought back the " seminary." As early as 1868 it occurred 
to Professor C. K. Adams, of the University of Michigan, that 
something might be done to awaken further interest by intro- 

1 Quoted by H. B. Adams, Study of History in American Colleges, 51. 



58 HISTORY IN AMERICAN SCHOOLS 

ducing German seminary methods." 1 Accordingly the follow- 
ing year he began with a few seniors who were particularly 
interested in history. At Harvard seven members of the Junior 
class, who had been trained in mediaeval history, undertook, 
with Assistant Professor Henry Adams, advanced work in 
mediaeval institutions, based upon the text of the Salic law, 
supplemented by various secondary works. This experiment 
was remarkably successful in stimulating young men of unusual 
power to fruitful research, and it left a permanent impress upon 
the historical department at Harvard. 

Although Johns Hopkins had an historical seminary as soon 
as it was organized in 1876, the great impulse which Johns 
Johns Hopkins gave to the training of students for re- 

Hopkins, search came from the more recent seminary, or- 

ganized by Professor H. B. Adams in 1881. with the history 
of American local institutions as its field for investigation. When 
the work actually began students from the South and West 
eagerly took up the study of their own local institutions in order 
to compare the parishes, districts, and counties of Virginia, the 
townships of the West, with the towns and parishes of New 
England. This work received much deserved notoriety, and 
not only served to commend the seminary as a sound instrument 
of higher historical teaching, but also, because the materials for 
similar work all over the country lay close to the hand of 
teachers and students, did much to awaken interest in the study 
of history as well as in historical research. 

The result of this better organization of historical work in the 
colleges was an increase in the number of well-trained men and 



1 From a letter quoted by Professor H. B. Adams in \ht Johns Hopkins 
University Studies, 2nd series, 108. Professor C.'K. Adams continues: 
" The students were, of course, ill prepared for anything that could properly 
be called original work, and the resources of the library were quite inade- 
quate." As Professor Adams developed his seminary, he found it wise to 
make the conditions of admission more stringent. Moreover, he dealt on 
each occasion with small numbers, the class at first being divided into 
sections of from six to ten members, afterwards into sections of from 
twelve to fourteen. 



HISTORY IN AMERICAN SCHOOLS 59 

women who were eager to see history better taught and given a 
more adequate position in the school curriculum. Many of 
them began their careers as teachers in the secondary schools, 
even when they did not permanently identify themselves with 
such work. 

It would be wrong to give the impression that history was 
nowhere well taught or granted due recognition until this move- 
ment had begun in the colleges. But it is true that ^ Public 
not much was done in the schools prior to the more Schools. 
intelligent attitude of the college authorities toward history. 
Earlier than 1880 American history was taught generally in the 
seventh and eighth grades of the grammar schools, and in the 
high schools or academies there was a little English or general 
history for pupils whose student life was to end with the secon- 
dary schools, and some Greek and Roman history for those 
who were preparing for college. Occasionally there was a pro- 
gramme that showed a more intelligent conception of the 
subject, but these were so rare as to be without significance. 
Frequently there was less rather than more time given to the 
subject. In 1876 it was reported that in Ohio American 
history was generally taught only in the eighth grade. Four 
years later there were but 31,171 children studying this subject, 
and 2,054 studying general history, while there were 267,618 
studying geography. The early programmes of the normal 
schools provided both for American and for general history. 
This is true of the regulations for normal schools in New York 
in 1834, in Massachusetts in 1838, in Connecticut in 1849, and 
in their successors elsewhere. 1 It is significant that the Com- 
mittee of the National Educational Association which reported 
in 1876 "A Course of Study from Primary School to Univer- 
sity,' 7 did not go further than the common practice of the day, 
except that they urged that " Universal " history be required 
of all students in the secondary schools. 2 

The campaign for a better treatment of the subject was 

1 Report of the Bureau of Education, 188S-18S9, I. 279 ff. 

2 Proceedings of the National Educational Association, 1876. 



60 HISTORY IN AMERICAN SCHOOLS 

opened at the Madison Conference in 189 1, the conclusions of 
which were embodied in the report of the Committee of Ten. 
Madison Although this committee had been appointed to 

Conference. consider the question of studies for the secondary 
schools, the Conference, believing that reform must begin in the 
elementary school if it was to be successfully carried out in 
the secondary school, made recommendations covering both 
periods of study. There were three important changes which 
the Conference sought to effect : first, an increase in the 
amount of time given to the subject ; second, a broadening of 
the scope of the courses in order to include more European 
history ; and, third, the abandonment of " the dry and lifeless 
system of instruction by text-book " for a " more rational kind 
of work." 

In order to attain the first object, it was urged that the 
schools offer courses of three periods a week continued during 
Course of tne ^ ast f° ur years of the grammar school and during 
Study. t h e f our y ears of the high school. If eight years 

cannot be obtained, they suggest six. The first two of these 
years are to be given to biography and mythology, so that there 
would remain only six years at most given to the systematic 
study of history. This should begin at the eleventh year of the 
child's life. 

The second object was to be reached by broadening the 
subject both in the grammar and in the high school. 
The students in the grammar school are no longer to study 
merely American history. Indeed, the formal study of this 
subject is cut down to one year, and the last year is given to 
Greek and Roman history. Since children do not usually 
complete the course in the grammar school until the age of 
fourteen or fifteen, the biography and mythology might have 
been crowded back and room found for another year of Ameri- 
can history, without deranging the scheme. The high school 
course was to consist of a year of French history "so taught 
as to elucidate the general movement of mediaeval and modern 
history," followed by English history, taught in the same way, 



HISTORY IN AMERICAN SCHOOLS 6l 

a third year of American history, and a fourth year of il a special 
period, studied in an intensive manner," and civil government. 
If a six-year course alone were possible, the French history 
would drop out. The Conference urged as their most impor- 
tant recommendation the necessity of studying European 
history. 1 

In explaining the methods by which history may be better 
taught, the Conference declared that out of one hundred and 

thirty-nine high schools which had replied to in- 

• , • , • i • . / • i j i Methods. 

quines on this subject, only sixty-nine furnished the 

pupils with outside references. Moreover, the text-books then 

in use were often " poor and antiquated," without proper 

apparatus, maps, marginal references, etc. To guard against 

the evils of the text-book method, it was suggested that at least 

one account besides that in the text-book should be read for 

each lesson, that there should be collateral readings, and that 

the subject should be taken up by topics. It was further urged 

that the work be carefully correlated with the work in English, 

and with Greek and Latin where possible, and that in every 

stage it be associated with the study of topography and political 

geography. 

Incidentally the Conference touched upon the value of 
history, and asserted that its principal object is the training 
of the mind. History by necessitating acts of Ideao f 
analysis and of comparison leads particularly to the Training, 
development of judgment. In further supporting this idea, 
the Conference said that " history may be looked upon in part 
as a laboratory science, in which pupils assemble material and 
from it make generalizations," and that the intensive study of 
the final year " will offer an opportunity to apply, on a small 
scale, the kind of training furnished by the best colleges ; it will 
teach careful, painstaking examination and comparison of 
sources. ..." 

The Committee of Ten had the difficult task of reconciling 



1 It may be added that they saw no reason to indicate distinct courses 
for those who were, and for those who were not, going to college. 



62 HISTORY IN AMERICAN SCHOOLS 

the claims of the Madison Conference for time in the programme 
with the claims of the conferences for the other subjects, 

t . so that, leaving out the recommendations for the 
Report of ' ° 

Committee grammar school which were beyond their prov- 
ince, the Committee in their outline of a com- 
promise programme gave history only three years except in the 
English course. In a sense, therefore, the recommendations 
of the Conference remained only a counsel of perfection. 

The work of the Conference on history was favourably 
received throughout the country by those deeply interested in 
the subject, although one or two features of the report were 
criticised severely. 1 It was contended that altogether too much 
emphasis was laid upon the value of historical work for training, 
and not enough on its usefulness in putting the pupil into right 
relations to the community. 2 It was also urged that it was not 
possible to make any such use of the " sources " as that sug- 
gested by the Conference. 3 And yet this report did mark out 



1 Principal Nightingale believed the Conference and the Committee, 
besides all the good they had accomplished, had also done some harm by 
providing for courses with only three exercises a week, so that more 
subjects might be crowded into the curriculum. N. E. A. Proceedings, 
1897, 651. E. V. Robinson explained that the Conference did not lay a 
sufficient stress on information in distinction from discipline. School 
Review, VI. 872 ff. 

2 Dr. C.A.McMurry declared there were two fundamental weaknesses in 
the recommendations. He denied that training was the end of education, 
and declared that "the highest value of history comes in its ability to 
awaken right desires by presenting ideals which pupils learn to love." 
But there is a danger that well-meaning but misguided persons, acting 
upon this view of the object of history, may sacrifice historical truth in 
order to make of history the handmaid of morality, a rather dubious 
proceeding. Dr. McMurry's second criticism urged that the Conference 
had supplied no principle to direct a wise selection of facts. There must, 
it is true, be some principle, and yet if it be too subjective, that is, if it is 
formulated for the purpose of making history speak virtuously, or teach 
good democracy, it is worse than no principle at all. N. E. A. Pro- 
ceedings, 1894, 160 ff. 

3 Dr. Julius Sachs urged the futility of study from the "sources." 
School Review, V. 161 ff. See also remarks before the Association 
of Colleges and Preparatory Schools of the Middle States and Maryland, 
November, 1897, Proceedings, 52-53. 



HISTORY IN AMERICAN SCHOOLS 63 

the field of the reform movement so clearly that much of what 
has come after is hardly more than a modification in detail, or 
a development, of what was said at Madison in 1891. 

The Committee of Fifteen, three years later, made a report 
on the curriculum of the elementary schools, but committee of 
so far as history is concerned, their recommenda- Fifteen, 
tions hardly went beyond the practice of the less progressive 
schools. 1 

It is natural that the representatives of the cause of history 
should be obliged to put forth a proclamation or two, like 
the Madison Conference report, before they saw New England 
where it was best to begin effective action. The Association - 
second important effort was made by a committee of the New 
England Association of Colleges and Preparatory Schools at its 
fall meeting in 1895. This was more than a proclamation, for 
the colleges were asked to shape their entrance requirements to 
meet the recommendations of the Committee. 

The Committee did not undertake, like the Madison Con- 
ference, to suggest what should be done in the elementary 



1 This Committee was appointed by the department of Superin- 
tendence of the National Educational Association. The study of 
American history with a text-book is to begin with the seventh grade, 
and to be continued a year and a half, followed by a half year of civics. 
This does not preclude the possibility of teaching some American 
history incidentally with the language work before the seventh grade is 
reached, and yet nothing is said of such an opportunity. General 
history is to have sixty minutes a week throughout the whole eight 
grades. One member of the Committee was in favour of consolidating 
this time during some part of each year, so that the work might be more 
effective. A total of an hour a week, which might be broken up into 
shorter periods, one for each day of the week, would be sufficient for the 
first grades, but it would be hopelessly unsatisfactory after the fourth or 
fifth grade is reached. The Committee also made the curious suggestion 
that the formal study of American history should close with the adoption 
of the Constitution, although the pupils should be encouraged to read 
on in text-books and other works. Fortunately this recommendation was 
not concurred in by all the members. If such a report be compared 
with the 1876 recommendations, it will be seen how little progress had 
been made in the interval, so far as the elementary schools were 
concerned. 



64 HISTORY IN AMERICAN SCHOOLS 

schools, nor did it map out a programme of study to cover the 
four years of the secondary school. It indicated seven sub- 
jects, each of which is to be pursued during one year with three 
exercises a week, and any two of which were to constitute a 
required subject for entrance to college. Three of these 
subjects had been suggested by the Madison Conference, 
namely, French history, American history, and the detailed 
study of some limited period. German history is also recom- 
mended, and is bracketed with French history, both to be " so 
taught as to elucidate the general movement of mediaeval and 
modern history." The point of teaching English history is 
slightly changed. Here it is to have " special reference to 
social and political development." Greek and Roman history 
appear on the secondary school list and not on the list for the 
elementary school. Moreover, the Committee regard Greek 
and Roman history as so fundamental that these courses should 
open the study of history in any programme. This recommen- 
dation was not, however, included among the formal resolutions 
adopted by the Association. 

It is implied in the scheme adopted by the Association, that 
the work in history shall in no case cover less than two years, 
and the obvious purpose of the action was to urge a programme 
of four years, whatever the group to which the students may 
belong, — Classical, Latin, Scientific, Modern Language, or 
English. 

The resolution bearing upon the subject of methods sought 
to draw out more definitely into a scheme of distinct methods 
the suggestions made by the Madison Conference. 1 Another 



1 " Resolved, That such written work should include some practice in 
at least three of the following : (a) Notes and digests of the pupil's read- 
ing outside the text-books ; (b) Written recitations requiring the use of 
judgment and the application of elementary principles ; {c) Written 
parallels between historical characters or periods ; (d) Brief investiga- 
tions of topics limited in scope, prepared outside the class-room, and 
including some use of original material ; (e) Historical maps or charts, 
made from printed data and comparison of existing maps, and showing 
movements of exploration, migration, or conquest, territorial changes, or 



HISTORY IX AM ERIC AX SCHOOLS 6$ 

resolution urged that " the examinations in history for entrance 
to college ought to be so framed as to require comparison and 
the use of judgment on the pupil's part, rather than ^^ ^ 
the mere use of memory. The examinations should trance Re- 
presuppose the use of good text-books, collateral 4^ements. 
reading, and practice in written work. Geographical knowl- 
edge should be tested by requiring the location of places and 
movements on an outline map." 

In one important particular the Association declined to act 
upon the recommendation of the Committee. This concerned 
the division of history into periods, or rather, the p er iods Sug- 
limit set for the close of the study of Roman his- ^ ested - 
tory. It had been at first proposed that the history of Rome 
should be brought to an end with the traditional "'fall of 
Rome "in 476, but, to use the words of a member of the 
Committee, it was " felt that there was in the period so often 
known as the ' Dark Ages/ between the fall of the old Empire 
and the rise of the new western Empire, a lesson which should 
be taught in order to develop at the outset a conception of 
historical continuity, and that it could be done best in connec- 
tion with Roman history ; that an attempt should be made here 
to follow out the lines laid down by Bryce and Freeman, and 
give an idea of Roman history in its entirety, bringing it into 
its relation with the history of Europe." x This was almost 
necessary, since there was to be no course in general mediaeval 
history. But the recommendation was not accepted by the 
Association on account of the protests of certain secondary 
school men that it would be impossible to cover the additional 
period effectively. Consequently, the limit fixed by the Asso- 
ciation was the accession of Commodus. 

As a result of a like interest in this movement felt by the 
similar Association of the Middle States and Maryland, a con- 



social phenomena." The original recommendations made to the Asso- 
ciation by its Conference Committee are found in the School Review, 
III. 46a. ff., and their final form appears in Educational Review, X. 
417-418. 

1 School Review^, III. 610. 

5 



66 HISTORY IN AMERICAN SCHOOLS 

ferencevvas held in New York, in February, 1896, at which the 
representatives of six colleges or universities were present. This 
New York conference practically accepted the conclusions of 
Conference. tne New England Association, save that it made 
several changes in the subjects which were recommended. 

The chief difference between the two reports lies in the 
emphasis upon the subjects. The whole list is divided into 
two parts. From the first part — Greek, Roman, English, and 
American history — are to be chosen the ordinary or minimum 
requirements for admission. From the second part — Mediae- 
val history or some period studied intensively — the colleges 
are requested to accept " one . . . either as additional prep- 
aration for entrance (in cases where colleges allow history as 
an advanced option) or for advanced standing." It is clear 
that a subject like history would have the best chance provided 
a college insisted on a certain minimum requirement; selected 
from various subjects, and allowed the remainder of the re- 
quirement to be made up by a selection from work of a more 
advanced character. In this way students particularly inter- 
ested in the subject could include more history among the 
subjects offered for entrance. As there is a tendency among 
the colleges to introduce so much of flexibility into their system 
of entrance requirements, this action of the Conference was 
especially opportune. 

The Conference also recommended, even more strongly than 

the Association, that Greek and Roman history should form a 

part of every candidate's preparation. It is prob- 

Roman able that in both cases this recommendation was 

s ory " made as a concession to the representatives of the 

classics. Mediaeval history was regarded as a course of ad- 
vanced study, because anything approaching general history 
was considered more difficult for beginners than the experience 
of a single people. 1 

Apparently those most interested in the better teaching of 
history had already reached a substantial agreement, except 

1 School Review, III. 600. 



HISTORY IN AMERICAN SCHOOLS 6/ 

upon one or two minor points in reference to the list of courses. 
The Committee of Seven, appointed by the American Historical 
Association in December, 1896, suggested that committee of 
Greek and Roman history be taught in the first Seven. 
year, and that this be followed in the second year by Mediaeval 
and Modern history, leaving English and American history for 
the last two years, as intended by the New York Conference. 
The Committee did not share the view that Mediaeval and 
Modern history was too advanced for students in the second 
year. " The answer to such objection," the Committee urge, 
" is, of course, that any other subject is too difficult if taught in 
its height and depth and breadth, but that the cardinal facts of 
European history can be understood, interesting and intelligible 
books can be read, the significant lessons can be learned." 1 
They urge, as a further and conclusive reply, that European 
history in the most difficult form, "general history," is now 
taught in the second year in the greater part of the schools 
which offer the subject. But this reasoning has not convinced 
all the objectors. The Committee of the New England History 
Teachers' Association recommended in 1899 that the subjects 
for the second and third year be turned about. It was their 
opinion that "the details are too numerous and the mass of 
complications too great for pupils who have received only such 
training in history as the elementary school now provides." 2 

The Committee of Seven suggested that in case a school 
could not offer a programme of four years' work, the second 
course be either English history, so treated as to illustrate the 
history of the Middle Ages, or that English and American 
history be combined. The former suggestion the New York 
Association of Academic Principals chose, because they felt 
it was more feasible on account of the work actually done in 
the schools, as well as on account of the existing entrance 
requirements for the leading colleges. The Regents, however, 
in their syllabus for 1900 followed rather the original scheme 

1 Report of the Committee of Seven, 35 ff. 

2 New Eng. Hist. Teachers' Association, Report No. 3, p. 27. 



68 HISTORY IN AMERICAN SCHOOLS 

suggested by the Committee of Seven, although the full four 

years' programme was not urged except where the conditions 

were favourable- for its adoption. 1 

It is curious to note that in fixing the limit of the first year's 

work the Committee of Seven followed the notion suggested 

during the meetings of the Committee of the New 
Periods. 

England Association, that it was advisable to bring 

this history down to the death of Charlemagne. Apparently in 
its original form that suggestion contemplated the fact that the 
succeeding course was to be either French or German history, 
and that but for some such bridging over the centuries after the 
disintegration of the Empire, there would be lost the sense 
of the continuity of Roman institutions. This argument does 
not apply with the same force when the succeeding course is to 
be mediaeval history. Nevertheless the suggestion has met 
with little criticism and has been widely followed. 2 

There have been two lines of approach in the task of 
bettering the work in history, — the first by attempting to in- 
Entrance fiuence the makers of school programmes, and the 
Requirements. se cond by endeavouring to arrange a more ade- 
quate entrance requirement. The New York Conference was 
an example of the latter. But even before it met, a Committee 
of the National Educational Association had begun the solution 
of the problem, although its Committee did not report until 
1899. In history the Committee of Seven acted as an advisory 
body. It is therefore necessary to note first what the Com- 
mittee of Seven recommended in this matter. Several funda- 
mental principles controlled their suggestions. First, there was 
to be no distinction between ordinary secondary school work 
in history and preparation for college, although in case a school 
could not give a four years' programme in history, there was to 
be an opportunity to offer the amount expected by the college 

1 Associated Academic Principals, 15th Annual Conference, 369 ff. 

2 For example, by the Curriculum Committee of the New England 
History Teachers' Association, the New York Academic Principals, in 
the Academic Syllabus for the High School Department, University 
of the State of New York. 



HISTORY IN AMERICAN SCHOOLS 69 

for which the school desired to prepare students. Second, 
there could be no rigid list of requirements enforced throughout 
the country. The element of flexibility must be introduced, so 
that schools could adjust themselves to local conditions. Third, 
" it is more important that pupils should acquire knowledge 
of what history is and how it should be studied than that they 
should cover any particular field." Fourth, there should be a 
definite standard of a " unit," or " block," or "course," 
including the length of time and the number of periods each 
week. The Committee recommended that five times a week 
for one year be taken as this standard. Furthermore, the 
Committee endeavoured to propose a scheme of requirements 
suited to the present situation, as this is determined by the 
tendencies of both the colleges and the secondary schools. 
For the colleges or scientific schools which have a "system 
of complete options," like Leland Stanford, it was recommended 
that four units of history be accepted as equal to any other 
four units. If the institutions had a prescribed list and options 
besides, one unit should be on the prescribed list, and one, two, 
or three on the optional list. Where there was only a pre- 
scribed list, at least one unit should appear, and the same 
should be true for each distinct list of requirements for different 
groups, Classical, Modern Language, and the like. It was also 
suggested that instead of five hours a week for one year, two 
topics might be given three hours a week during two years. In 
such a case, however, the two topics were to be hardly more 
than halves of one of the five period topics. 

The Committee urged that those intending to take the 
classical group in college should study at least one unit of 
Greek and Roman history, or if this was taught incidentally to 
the work in languages another unit might be chosen. For the 
scientific group there should be two units, and for the English 
group at least three, preferably four, that this study might 
become one of the central subjects. 

The Committee of the National Educational Association 
accepted this report with only one or two qualifications. The 



70 HISTORY IN AMERICAN SCHOOLS 

Committee thought it highly desirable that whatever be the con- 
tent of any particular unit, they should each have the same 

„ ^ , value for entrance as every other within the same 

National J 

Educational group, leaving it to the local conditions to deter- 
Association. m [ nQ h ovv manv units of any particular group a"re 
to be chosen. All this was in the interest of devising a com- 
mon standard of measurement by which to bring order out 
of the present confusion. But the chief qualification which 
the Committee insisted upon seemed to thwart the hopes of all 
those who since the Madison Conference had been seeking 
to broaden the scope of historical work in the schools. This 
qualification read as follows : " That it is desirable that one 
year of United States history and civil government should be 
furnished by the secondary schools as a requirement for 
admission by all colleges and universities. " Furthermore, 
a resolution was adopted urging that at least a half year be 
added " of intensive study of some period of history, especially 
of the United States." 1 This indicates little appreciation of the 
need of teaching anything but American history in the secondary 
as well as the elementary schools. Such a backward step is 
not likely to be taken by the colleges in arranging their entrance 
requirements. 2 



1 Proceedings, 1899, pp. 648, 665. This report is also published 
separately. 

2 The Bureau of Education reported the following facts in reference 
to the state of college requirements in 1895-1896. " The requirements 
in history seem to be more varied than in any other branch of study. 
History of the United States is required by 306 institutions. . . . State 
and local history by nine institutions. General history, by 127 ; history 
of Greece, by 112, and history of Rome by 116. As a rule, the institu- 
tions requiring the history of Greece also require the history of Rome. 
History of England is required by 57 institutions." Other subjects were 
named in this resume, but were represented by fewer institutions. 
Report, 1 896-1 897, 468. 

For a tabular view of the entrance requirements of about 60 institu- 
tions in 1896, see School Review for that year. It is worth noting 
that out of 27 of these which lie west of the Alleghanies, 15 require 
"general" history, while this subject is required by only two out of 
31 lying east of the mountains. Sometimes the history of Greece and 
Rome is emphasized as a part of the general history, so that this 



HISTORY IN AMERICAN SCHOOLS 71 

Already the entrance requirements arranged by the colleges 
show the influence of this agitation and particularly of the 

work of the New York Conference. Harvard, 

Results. 
Cornell, Dartmouth, the University of Pennsyl- 
vania, Bryn Mawr, and some other institutions have adopted 
a requirement, providing for courses in either Greek and 
Roman history, or in English and American history, each 
group to cover at least three hours a week for two years. They 
have also accepted the principles laid down at the Conference 
governing the content of these courses and the methods by 
which they are to be taught. There are other institutions which 
require more history for entrance to certain groups of college 
work, and yet their requirements are apparently not a result of 
this movement. 1 



becomes hardly different from a short course in Greek and Roman 
history, followed by Mediaeval and Modern history. Of these 60 
institutions, 38 require Greek history, 40 Roman history, and only 
32 American. But so few of the group require American history largely 
because they presuppose it as an entrance requirement for the secondary 
school, although this reason is deprived of some force by the fact that they 
do require certain studies which are also concluded before the period 
of secondary instruction is begun. 

The task of reforming college entrance requirements has been 
rendered unnecessarily difficult because of the failure of the committees 
who have presented reports on the subject to agree upon the time 
element in each unit of work. The New York Conference insisted on at 
least three periods a week. The Committee of Seven raised this to 
five, while the Committee of the National Educational Association fixed 
the number at four. Consequently, in estimating the amount of work 
done by any school, it is necessary to note the number of exercises 
a week, in addition to the number of years the subject appears in the 
programme. A certain amount of flexibility should be allowed, but 
different standards of measurement introduce confusion. 

1 According to the Harvard requirements, which may be taken as 
typical of this movement, two units, or years, of " Elementary History " 
must be offered by all students. Two further units may also be offered 
as " Advanced History." These may be selected from fields belonging 
to the " Elementary History," or from the two following, each one of which 
implies two years' study: "3. European History from the Germanic con- 
quests to the beginning of the Seventeenth Century ; " or, 4. A year's 
study of any field of " Elementary History," "together with a detailed study 
of a limited period within that field, selected with the approval of the 



72 HISTORY IN AMERICAN SCHOOLS 

Although the programme of the elementary school has not 
yet received the attention recently bestowed upon that of the 
Elementary secondary school, it has been steadily improved, 
School. partly through the efforts of individual superinten- 

dents, and partly through discussions by associations of teachers. 
In 1899 tne New England History Teachers' Association 
recommended that the work in history below the secondary 
school be distributed into two cycles, the first to begin with the 
second school year, and to include "the elements of Grecian, 
Roman, and Norse mythology, stories and biographies from 
Hebrew, Grecian, Roman, European, English, and American 
history, — chiefly told or read by the teacher." The second 
cycle was to begin with the sixth year and to include after a 
revision of the first work " a study of English and American 
history from elementary text-books in the hands of the pupils." x 

A study of the programmes of the city schools shows that the 

subject is creeping into the lower grades of the grammar school, 

and even into the primary school. Unfortunately, 
Programmes. .... 

only in a few schools is there any attempt to teach 

European or English history. This simply means that if the 
pupils after their school days are over remain in dense igno- 
rance of Europe and all that Europe has meant for American 
civilization, it will be partly because of the narrowness of their 
education. 2 



Department of History." Subjects offered as " Advanced History " 
must be treated in such a way as to show " a higher standard of acquire- 
ment and of power to combine results." With the examination must be 
presented a " note-book ( or bound collection of notes), containing not 
less than fifty written pages on each historical field offered, and must 
show practice in some " of the exercises recommended by the New 
England Association ( see p. 166). 

1 Report No. 3, pp. 24-25. 

2 The impression a study of American programmes makes upon the 
European is evident from the following by Dr. Joseph Baar of the 
Progymnasium of Malmedy. He wrote in 1896: " The aim of the study 
of history in the United States is more than in monarchical states a 
political one. It is to prepare the young for a self-active participation 
in the life of the state, by giving them the requisite historical knowledge 
and by training them in the American spirit. This explains why the 



HISTORY IN AMERICAN SCHOOLS 73 

The chief features in the arrangement of these programmes 
are : first, the correlation of history with other subjects, with 
the English or language work in the early grades, and later with 
geography, sometimes also with conduct and government; 
second, a double or triple passage through the field, in the 
earlier part by means of biographies, and finally by a more 
formal study based on the text-book. Occasionally the use of 
correlation is a peculiar one, as, for example, when the subject is 
subordinated to geography, and the pupil is carried about from 
continent to continent, with no regard to historic continuity. 

The scheme for the elementary study of history worked out 
by the Chicago Institute x deserves particular mention, for it is 
based on the "culture epoch" theory, according to Chicago 
which each step in the course must follow closely Ins titute. 
the experiences of the child and the corresponding experiences 
of the race. Before the pupil reaches the fifth grade, he has 
been brought into contact with the industrial efforts and social 
activities of the community, and has been taught to inquire out 
of what have been developed the present devices used by men, 
their tools, their houses, and the like. He then begins to learn 
how the local city came into being, and how the early colonial 
settlements were founded. By the time he reaches the sixth 
grade, he has been led back to the period of the discoveries, 
and he is led still further to the history of the cities whose 
maritime enterprises were the necessary prelude to the discov- 
eries. In the seventh grade, through inquiries about the ideas 
and the customs the early settlers brought with them, he is 
carried back to Rome, and is taught to trace down the develop- 
ment of the Romans, the Teutons, and of other European peo- 



grammar schools confine themselves to American history. This home 
history is taught very thoroughly during the last two years of the ele- 
mentary course . . . and also in the form of a review in the high 
schools. Ancient history, on the other hand, is taught only in the high 
or other secondary schools, and very superficially at that. English his- 
tory is all that finds a little attention besides ancient and home history." 
U. S. Bureau of Education, 1893- 1 894, 302 ff. 

1 Now School of Education, University of Chicago. 



74 HISTORY IN AMERICAN SCHOOLS 

pies as far as the Renaissance. In the eighth grade starting 

from the present social and industrial conditions, he is to learn 

what has brought them about. 1 

The problem of the rural school is distinct from that of the city 

elementary school. A committee of the National Educational 

Association has recommended a special programme 
Rural Schools. „ , , , 

for such schools. In its details it shows a more 

progressive spirit than do many programmes in force in the 
city schools. It was evidently not drawn up in a spirit of that 
provincialism that forgets that Americans are the children of 
Europe, and should properly become interested in the deeds of 
their English and European ancestors, as well as in the achieve- 
ments of the later Europeans. The programme is divided 
into four groups, each corresponding to two years of school 
life. The fourth group therefore includes children from eleven 
to thirteen years of age. Not until this group is reached, does 
the formal study of history begin, after preparation has been 
made by legends, stories, and biographies in the other groups. 
The work of the fourth group is also subdivided, the first part 
being based upon selected topics of general history, taught 
with the aim of developing a love of reading, and the second 
part taking up American history. 2 

During the last ten years there has been an increase in the 
number of students in the secondary schools studying history 
other than American history. This number in 1889-1890 was 
82,909 for both public high schools and endowed schools, the 

1 Emily J. Rice, who has charge of the work, thus sets forth the 
theory on which it is based : " Our history course must not necessarily 
follow the order of historical progress, but will find its material in what- 
ever illuminates the activities in which the child is taking a part, since 
by these activities he is entering into race experience. In the social 
study of the school, it is possible to organize these activities to better 
advantage than in the home. Here the children may share in the labour 
that has been the means of race improvement, and trace from the 
primary necessities of man his industrial, social, and political progress." 
Course of Study, I. 116 ff. Cf. the plan of Professor C. A. McMurry, 
N. E. A., 1895, pp. 475 ff. 

2 Report of the Committee of Twelve on Rural Schools, 171 ff. Chicago, 
1897. 



Progress. 



HISTORY IN AMERICAN SCHOOLS 75 

number for the public high schools being 55.427. In 1897- 

1898 these numbers had risen to 202,034, and for the high 

schools to 169,478. Putting the matter another 

way, in the first year 27.31 per cent of the high 

school pupils were studying history, while in the second year 

the percentage was 37-70. 1 

The Committee of Seven made a careful investigation of the 
amount of history taught in the secondary schools, by select- 
ing three hundred typical schools and by procuring p reS ent 
from them detailed information bearing upon the Situation, 
whole situation. They found that the favourite topics were, 
"(1) English and American history, taught in more than half 
the schools ; (2) General history, taught in almost exactly half 
the schools ; (3) Greek and Roman history, taught in about 
half the schools ; (4) European history, taught in about one-third 
of the schools, the three forms — mediaeval, modern, and French 
history — being about equally common." They also found that 
of seventy schools which answered the question, " What is the 
maximum number of exercises in history in your whole curricu- 
lum . . . open to a pupil who chooses that course which has 
most history in it ? " three quarters offered over four hundred 
exercises, which is at least five exercises a week during two years. 2 

It is believed by some that greater progress would be made 
did the State authorities provide a uniform course of study. 
This only twenty-two States had done in 1898, and 
not all of these were able to enforce the acceptance 
of such a course by the schools. 3 It is, however, possible that 
a subject like history, the value of which has been so tardily 



1 I have found no accurate statistics in regard to the comparative 
number of elementary pupils studying history. 

2 Report, 139 ff. The Michigan Schoolmasters' Club found in 1894 
that of the thirty-six academies, thirty-five high schools, and fourteen 
small high schools on the accredited list of the University of Michigan, 
the following amounts of time were given to history : Academies, 1.6 
years ; large high schools, 1.7 ; small high schools, 1.8. School Review, 
III. 67. 

3 Report of the Committee of Seven* 138, 159. 



76 HISTORY IN AMERICAN SCHOOLS 

perceived, has a better chance if an advance can be made 

wherever a progressive spirit is at hand, without waiting for the 

authorities of a whole State to become convinced of the 

expediency of the change. 

The progress that has been made during the last ten or 

fifteen years is encouraging. Although history does not yet 

receive the recognition which is due to so impor- 
The Outlook. . . . , . , , 

tant a subject, its value is better understood, its 

objects are more clearly defined, the methods of teaching it are 

more fully developed. Some things remain to be done. At 

present in the elementary schools and, to a large extent, in the 

secondary schools, the subject is assigned to teachers who 

know little about it and who have never been adequately 

trained to teach it. A little study of history in college is not 

enough, and even this is usually lacking. The remedy here 

can come only through the strengthening of the college work 

in history and through more adequate courses of instruction 

in the normal schools. Quite as important as this is the 

realization on the part of the makers of programmes that we 

live not merely in the United States, but also in the world. 

Another decade should not pass before the work in history 

in the American schools is made as comprehensive and is 

entrusted to as well-trained teachers as is the case in France 

and in Germany. 



CHAPTER V 

THE VALUE OF HISTORY 

BIBLIOGRAPHY. 

Andrews, C. M. History as an Aid to Moral Culture. Nat. Ed. 
Assoc. 1S94. Pp. 397-411. 

Bain, Alexander. Pp. 225-228 in Education as a Science. London, 
Kegan Paul. New York, Appleton. 1890. 

Committee of Seven. Pp. 16-26. 

Hinsdale, B. A. Pp. r— 17 in How to Study and Teach American 
History. New York, Appleton. 1894. 

Lecky, W. E. H. The Political Value of History. London, E. 
Arnold. New York, Appleton. 1893. 

Prothero, Geo. Why should we learn History. Eclectic Maga- 
zine, CXXIV 349-359- 

Sloane, W. M. How to Bring out the Ethical Value of History. 
School Review, VI. 724-744. 

Spencer, Herbert. Education. Pp. 64-71. London, Williams & 
Norgate. New York, Appleton. 1865. 

A few years ago a committee on methods proposed certain 

kinds of work by which teachers could " wring from history its 

educational value." Although this phrase implies ^. x * 

l r Object of 

the need of a strenuous effort if more than a Teaching 

dubious outcome is to be produced, it suggests story# 

that sooner or later in the teacher's mind rises the question, 

insistent for answer, Why do I teach history? Of what use is it 

that the children should know that the Saracens were defeated 

at Tours, why Luther posted his theses, or even just how the 

French lost Canada? 1 An adequate answer to such questions 

1 Herbert Spencer declared some years ago that the history that was 
usually taught had no practical value. " It is composed," said he, " of 
facts from which no conclusion can be drawn — unorganizable facts, and 
therefore facts which can be of no service in establishing principles 



78 THE VALUE OF HISTORY 

is important because it determines the character of the course 
of study and suggests the methods of teaching. The question 
may be stated in either of two forms : What is the object of 
teaching history ? or What is the educational value of historical 
instruction? 

The object should not at any period of the school life be 
determined primarily by what the pupils are to do in the 
period just beyond, for in this case the interests of the greater 
number, both in the elementary and in the secondary school, 
would be ignored. This does not mean that the general plan 
of historical work should not provide for an orderly progress 
from its beginnings in the elementary school to its conclusion 
at the threshold of graduate instruction. It simply takes 
account of the fact that the majority of the pupils in the 
elementary school do not enter the high school, and that 
the majority of the high school pupils do not go to college. 

Theoretically there should be no difference between what 
will best prepare a pupil for college and what may wisely be 
done in the secondary school. It is true also that the agitation 
for a more intelligent use of history in the schools has received 
its inspiration from the colleges, but the college officer in 
arranging entrance requirements usually has in mind what is to 
be accomplished by the candidate after his admission, and 
he does not sufficiently consider the bearings of the problem of 
secondary instruction upon the question. It may be asked, 
Should not the secondary school pupils be divided into two 
classes, and those who intend to enter college be given a course 
primarily arranged to prepare them for their college work? 
This assumes that it is generally known who is and who is not 
going to college. The Madison Conference emphatically 
declared against such discrimination, even when this was 
definitely ascertained. 1 The Committee of Seven did not go 

of conduct, which is the chief use of facts. Read them, if you like, 
for amusement, but do not natter yourself they are instructive." 
Education, 67. 

1 This was declared in the thirty-first resolution, "That the instruc- 
tion in history and related subjects ought to be precisely the same for 



THE VALUE OF HISTORY 79 

quite so far, although they declare that "in the great majority 

of schools the curriculum must be prepared with the purpose 

of developing boys and girls into young men and women, not 

with the purpose of fitting them to meet entrance requirements 

or of filling them with information which some faculty thinks 

desirable as a forerunner of college work." 1 The only exception 

they made was in the case of the academies and some high 

schools which "can without much trouble meet the artificial 

requirements of the colleges." Even this exception the 

Committee on Entrance Requirements of the National 

Educational Association was inclined to reject, believing that 

if difference there must be, this difference should be in the 

number of units of historical work required, rather than in 

the character of the units themselves. 2 That is to say, the 

colleges may select Greek and Roman history, rather than 

some other period, as best suited for preparation, but the aim 

with which it is studied should be derived from the general 

aim of secondary instruction, rather than from the exigencies 

of the college curriculum. 

The only period of school life when the teaching of history 

may be regarded as in a sense preparatory, lies at the very 

beginnings of such work. The aim with young 

, i i • . , i r , '• . First Steps. 

children is to broaden tne range of their experience, 

and consequently of their imaginative power, and in this way to 

give them new words filled with content, which, when they 

become conscious of the relations of things in space and time, 

pupils on their way to college or the scientific school, as for those who 
expect to stop at the end of the grammar school, or at the end of the 
high school." Committee of Ten, Report, 165. 

1 Study of History in Schools, 120. The Committee on Courses 
of Study of the New England History Teachers' Association declared 
itself to be " in most hearty sympathy with both the Committee of Ten 
and the Committee of Seven, as to the teaching of all subjects in the 
curricula of the secondary school without regard to the destination of 
the pupils," and yet they believe that an intensive study of Greek and 
Roman history must be made close to the entrance examinations. 
Report No. 3, pp. 31, 32. 

2 1899 Proceedings, 648. For meaning of " units," see p. 69 of this 
book. 



80 THE VALUE OF HISTORY 

may serve as the means of carrying them further out into the 

larger realm of the real world. 

A common definition of the aim of education is " complete 

living," which "means to be as useful as possible and to be 

happy." * It is obvious that the study of history does 
History and rr ; ... . .. . . f , J 

the Aim of not facilitate completer Jiving with the apparent 

Life. directness characteristic of several other studies in 

the school curriculum ; reading and writing, for example, which 
are necessary for the mere earning of bread and butter ; or to 
go farther up in the scale, any of those studies the relation of 
which to some form of daily work is perfectly clear. If one 
goes high enough, it is easy to find work to which some histori- 
cal knowledge is indispensable. The philologist must be a 
trained student of a certain field of history ; so must one who 
would rightly know literature ; so also the theologian, the econo- 
mist, the diplomat ; even the effective politician must know 
something of the origin of the forces which he seeks to manipu- 
late. 2 And yet although the study of history does have these 
practical, immediate relations to several other forms of work 
which the community deems necessary, its value does not lie 
largely in this. It must have a value for the life of the child, if 
it is to further complete living. 

What are the elements of a life fairly complete ? Certainly 
one of them is all the comprehension of this world we can get, 
Revelation not oni y through ordinary observation, but through 
by History. f-} ie study of science, literature, and history. This 
intelligent knowledge of our surroundings should not be the 
peculiar privilege of the few, for it brings with it lasting satis- 
factions and greater freedom of action. To such an under- 

1 Harms, Educational Values, 5. 

2 Mr. Lecky emphasizes the practical value of history in the following 
words : " It is, I think, one of the best schools for that kind of reasoning 
which is most useful in practical life. It teaches men to weigh conflict- 
ing probabilities, to estimate degrees of evidence, to form a sound judg- 
ment of the value of authorities. Reasoning is taught by actual practice 
much more than by any a priori methods." Political Value of History, 
47-48. 



THE VALUE OF HISTORY 8 1 

standing of the world history is the necessary introduction. 
There are undoubtedly persons endowed with strong sympa- 
thetic insight who enter with some degree of fulness into the 
spirit of a nation's institutions, without knowing much of the 
long process out of which these institutions have come. And 
plain good citizenship depends upon habits and qualities the 
connection of which with any sort of " book-learning " is rather 
remote. Other things being equal, the surest road to a com- 
prehension of our country, its institutions and its relations to 
the world, lies through work in history. It must not be for- 
gotten that any product of the past, an administrative system, 
a court, a church, is not altogether visible to the observer, how- 
ever long he may watch it. A part of what it really is, probably 
its most valuable part, is that indefinable something which has 
been added to it by generation after generation of men. It is 
like the Cologne cathedral, the work of many hands in different 
ages. If a boy be told to love his country, he might properly 
inquire, What is my country? It would not be enough to show 
him a list of the States, or the flag, or to name the leading 
politician who happened to be president. His real country has 
much that is invisible built into its very structure. It is Wash- 
ington's long struggle to found and organize the republic, it is 
Jefferson's dreams of democratic equality, it is the deeds and 
words of the men who from period to period guided public 
opinion and settled the national policy, of those who spread 
civil communities from the Alleghanies to the Pacific, who 
built up our industries and laid the foundations of our intellect- 
ual life. Each act in all the great drama of the national history 
has added its bit to the reality of the whole. That whole can- 
not be understood unless that which has made it what it has 
become is known. Physical blindness is no less unfortunate 
than any dimness of sight that shuts out half and more of what 
such parts of the world really are. 

Another illustration may be sought in such an institution as 
the English cabinet system. To the uninstructed experience 
this might seem a group of governmental customs which an 

6 



82 THE VALUE OF HISTORY 

intelligent child might give some account of after a month's visit 
in London during the period of a general election. Each one of 
The History these customs, the manner of selecting the prime 
of the Past. minister, the duration of a ministry, the fact that as 
a ministry decide so the Crown determines, might appear simple 
devices, to be approved or condemned upon their apparent 
theoretical value. But by such a process not even the most 
acute observer could put the proper emphasis on the features 
of this governmental system ; this is possible only to the histori- 
cal mind tracing out the process by which the delicate adjust- 
ment of powers and responsibilities has been reached in England. 
Before such a mind there rises up a long series of great scenes : 
on this occasion such a custom was finally established, and on 
this, another; and each occasion adding something, some 
quality or characteristic, to the simple device, the whole real- 
ity of which could never be felt by looking straight at it. 

Even a geographical boundary is not the meaningless fact 
that some stream, or a certain degree of latitude or longitude, 
separates two states. Europe is full of illustrations of this, and 
none more striking than the northeastern boundary of France. 
The struggles of the French and the Germans from the faint 
beginnings of their national existence in 843 a. d. to the 
present day have made almost every foot of that ground signifi- 
cant. It is ground still ; so is Bunker Hill and Gettysburg, but 
whoever thinks of such places as ordinary earth ! 

If the pupils in either the elementary or the secondary school are 
to gain an adequate comprehension of even their own country, 
European they must study the history of Europe. This remark 
History. applies particularly to the elementary school, where 

hitherto European history has been little taught. Those whose 
school career ends there, do not get even the fragmentary 
knowledge which is imparted in the high school by the usual 
one year's work in " general " history. 

Europe cannot thus be thrust out of our calculations. The 
virtues, the guarantees of personal liberty, human culture, did 
not wait for their creation until the foundation of Jamestown or 



THE VALUE OF HISTORY 83 

the landing of the Pilgrims. The men who left England and 
the Continent to find new homes beyond the Atlantic took 
with them the heritage which had come down from the days of 
Greece and Rome and from the Middle Ages. Their relations 
with the Old World did not cease when they turned their faces 
westward. For a century and a half they remained a part of 
Europe, were constantly subject to its influence, and were in- 
volved in nearly all its struggles. And after independence 
came, for half a century more, until the great Revolutionary era 
was concluded and Spanish America, as well as nearly all of 
English America, had successfully broken its colonial ties, the 
history of the new republic was profoundly affected by every- 
thing that took place in Europe. Nor did the influence cease 
then. Our political autonomy had been achieved, but we were 
still content to seek from older peoples guidance in shaping our 
ideas. Many of our greatest teachers have sought in Europe to 
complete their training, or to feel more directly the inspiration 
of ancient and splendid traditions. 

If the aim of historical instruction be the interpretation of the 
world to the child, it is a mistake to tolerate a narrow scheme 
of study which leaves out of account the larger world of which 
America has never ceased to be a part and without some 
knowledge of which our own history is unintelligible. 

Ignorance of European history may lead to something worse 
than the misunderstanding of events which have their begin- 
nings in Europe. Our national history covers so ignorance of 

short a period of time that it includes no great Eur °P e an 

History. 
transition like that from classical society to the 

Middle Ages or from the Middle Ages to modern times, so that 
the pupil may not readily get from it the notion of development 
which is fundamental to a comprehension of history. Nothing 
so clearly distinguishes the historical from the unhistorical atti- 
tude of mind as this idea of a traceable growth in institutions, 
in the structure of society, and even in the beliefs which men 
have cherished. It was not until the scholars of the Renais- 
sance had rediscovered antiquity and their curiosity had been 



84 THE VALUE OF HISTORY 

awakened by the startling contrasts which it presented to what 
they observed about them, that they began to understand the 
Middle Ages. They had been accustomed to think that things 
had always been as these were in their own day, and they were, 
therefore, a prey to the most astonishing delusions. Children 
cannot state an abstract idea of this sort, but they can feel the 
fact, and it will affect their attitude toward the events of Ameri- 
can history. This will also be facilitated if their American 
history comes in its chronological place in a study of the whole 
experience of the European man. 

It may be objected that in such countries as Germany, 
where history is thoroughly studied in the schools, the national 
The Case of history forms the basis of the whole course, particu- 
Germany. i ar iy m t } ie People's schools. But, as already 
explained, it is impossible to study German history without 
studying the history of Europe from the Roman empire down 
to the end of the Franco-Prussian war. There are some phases 
of European experience that German history does not illustrate, 
but these are few, so that the pupil is led naturally to an intelli- 
gent conception of the historical process. The national history 
forms the centre, but grouped about it, acting upon it, and in 
turn feeling its influence, are the other countries of Christen- 
dom. The pupil may grow up intensely German, but he will 
be free from that complacent contempt for other peoples which 
springs from ignorance of the part they have played in the 
development of civilization. 

If history does open to the child the reality of the world in 
which he dwells, so that he may more completely enter into its 
History as life, it must give the child a clearer consciousness 
a Revelation. of what he is himself# i Why does "nobility 

oblige "? Simply because the boy or man has entered into a 
larger realization of what he is through his knowledge of the 

1 Droysen, in his Principles of History, puts the matter this way : 
" The human being is, in essential nature, a totality in himself, but 
realises this character only in understanding others and being under- 
stood by them, in the moral partnerships of family, people, state, 
religion, etc." 14. 



THE VALUE OF HISTORY 85 

traditions of his house. In the same way the honourable record 
of a regiment, of a ship-of-the-line, the traditions of even- 
handed justice that surround certain courts, elevate and clarify 
the consciousness of the men who make up their personnel. 
So the boy and girl may through the proper study of history 
learn better to know themselves in relation to their community, 
their State, and their country. 

It was the opinion of Ziller, one of Herbart's leading 
disciples, that history not merely has " the greatest practical 
value in bringing about the moral revelation of the world in the 
mind of the child," but also that it may serve as the core of the U 
school studies at every stage of education, except the lowest, 
since the development of the child and the development of the 
race roughly coincide. 1 During the first four years literature 
was used, and yet even this was a literature that embodied 
simple historical conditions of society, Bible stories, legends of 
Thuringia, and the Niebelungen Tales. 

If history is to add much to the pupil's comprehension of the 

world, it cannot be through a bare chronicle of deeds, with names 

and dates. There must be facts and plenty of them : . „„ 

, ■, An Effective 

and yet few events by themselves mean anything. Sort of 

They gain their significance from the causes and the Hlstory * 
conditions which have made them possible, or from the conse- 
quences to which they give rise. It is just as much a discovery 
to discern in a fact a new significance as it is through the pain- 
ful turning over of old records to bring another fact to light. 
More than one eminent historian has rendered his greatest ser- 
vice in this way. And as each generation becomes affected by 
new interests, political, economic, or social, its thinking men 
look back upon the past from a changed point of view, and see 
fresh significance in many a fact that hitherto appeared com- 
monplace. The scope of history itself has by this means been 



1 DeGarmo, Herbart and the Herbartians, 107 ff. Strictly speaking, 
history and literature were to constitute the "core." but Professor 
DeGarmo says that no serious attempt was made to use literature after 
the early years. 



S6 THE VALUE OF HISTORY 

several times enlarged. It is a history, therefore, with facts 
capable of interpretation, of being intelligibly grouped, that 
possesses educational value. 

Too much must not be asked of history. It does not do its 
work of revealing the world in as systematic and orderly a 
Unscientific fashion as the sciences. Unlike their facts, its own 
History. cannot be measured and determined, although 

vaguely discerned among them are constant tendencies, which 
may some day be capable of statement as laws of civilization. 
Only a part of the value of historical instruction consists in 
following the orderly development of institutions, the direction 
of change in society, the organization of industry, the gradual 
reconstruction of society itself. There are facts that do not 
lend themselves to even as much systematic treatment as this, 
and which are, nevertheless, important in making the world 
intelligible. Such facts make up the bulk of most historical 
narratives. They give the detailed history of every notable 
cause, or of its leaders. They are not unrelated. The career 
of Napoleon is as intelligible as the system of administration he 
created for France. Moreover, many events which form an 
integral part of the growth of some great institution yield their 
meaning only after a close study of the persons who were chief 
actors, and of the ideas and aspirations which these men 
cherished. Who could explain the papacy without taking into 
account such men as Leo I., Gregory I., Gregory VII., and 
Innocent III.? Facts of this kind are the flesh and blood of 
history ; they introduce the pupil into a wonderfully rich and 
varied experience that gives flavour and quality to all the past. 
They are despised only by those who have a theory of the origin 
of civilization and are ready to reject everything that cannot 
be fitted into the formula. 1 



1 Spencer believes only organizable facts are of value, those which 
may he grouped into a " natural history of society," and the key to the 
interpretation of which may be furnished by Science. Education, 68-69. 
Bain holds similar views, but he thinks these social facts must be pre- 
sented to the child " in solution," that is, in a narrative of general events. 
He says : " Since the deep, political forces which it [the child] cannot 



THE VALUE OF HISTORY 87 

History has the additional advantage that it can make a 
direct appeal to interests which the pupil already possesses. 
These interests differ in relative influence at the 
different stages of development. At first it is the 
interest in those universal experiences in which by imagination 
even a child may share, experiences embodied in the fairy story 
or the legend. Further on it is stories of war and adventure ; 
and still further, political and religious struggles, the inner life 
of men who have led their generations in some field of achieve- 
ment. When this interest is highly developed, history is as 
great a delight as the masterpieces of fiction. But it is obvious 
that such a development of interest can only accompany the 
growth of a powerful imagination, able by analysis and interpre- 
tation to follow the experiences of a people or an individual 
where only fragmentary evidences lead. 

There is another fundamental interest to which history makes 
appeal, the desire to find out why things have taken place. 
This may become strong enough to carry the pupil far into the 
causes and effects which illumine the facts of history. In a 
heightened form, it may lead him to begin investigations and 
to discover the pleasure of hunting for some lost fact or hidden 
cause through record after record. 

These interests, if successfully developed by skilful instruc- 
tion, take their place among the permanent intellectual forces 
and constantly urge the mind out into the rich field of human 
experience. 

The ethical value of history is sometimes seriously questioned. 

A distinction must, it is true, be made between history as it should 

be, and history as it is in the hands of ignorant 

,,.,-, Ethical Value, 

and unskilful teachers. President Eliot declared 

a few years ago that the results of the teaching of history in 

this country were not only small, but " quite as apt to be unethical 

understand, take the form of a stirring narrative, which it can in part 
understand, history is seldom entirely devoid of interest or debarred 
from leaving impressions, and in these impressions are materials that 
may one day constitute a portion of historical knowledge, in the highest 
form/' 226-227. 



88 THE VALUE OF HISTORY 

as ethical. When, for instance, the teaching of American history 
is used simply to develop vainglory and pugnacity in the 
nation, the result is unethical ; with that kind of teaching we 
are going down hill toward savagery, instead of upward toward 
civilization." But even if history be rightly taught, its ethical 
value does not always seem clear, because it is not primarily 
interested in whether people were good or not, but in what they 
were, in what they did, their aims, and their convictions. And 
yet if history does help the pupil to a proper comprehension of 
the world and to a better understanding of his own place in it, 
this has a moral value. Such knowledge may sharpen his sense 
of duty as a citizen and as a man. Dr. Laurie says : " We attain 
our ethical purpose in teaching history by connecting the life of 
the boy with the life of past humanity of which he is the most 
recent outcome. Thus we make it possible for him to become 
a being of large discourse looking before and after." Moreover, 
although history is not chiefly interested in the goodness or bad- 
ness of the men with whose lives it deals, it has never refrained 
from directly or by implication showing the vanity of wicked- 
ness in high places, or from so setting forth the matter that the 
reader could easily reach a sound judgment. 1 

History also shows how men have been swept out of the chan- 
nel of their petty individual ambitions and made to serve the 
common cause. In this way it makes clearer the relative 



1 It is hazardous advice to urge that " If the moral value of the study 
of history is to be secured, teachers must feel their responsibility to set 
before their pupils from the historic page the highest ideals of conduct 
and character. They must possess both the knowledge and the courage 
to enlarge here and to cut out there." N. E. History Teachers' Association, 
Report No. 3, p. 30. It is not wise to whitewash the world too exten- 
sively, in view of the fact that the pupils must live in it. Probably the 
intention of the advice was that the teacher should not dwell too long on 
the exploits of the Caesar Borgias or the Catherine de Medicis. Another 
expedient by which it is thought to ''wring" out of history its ethical 
value is destructive of history itself. " In support of virtue," it is 
asserted, "and in rebuke of vice, the lessons of history are absolutely 
independent of time. Freed from chronology, the near and the remote 
may become equally potent in the life of the child." W. S. Jackman in 
Educational Review, IX. 469-470. 



THE VALUE OF HISTORY 89 

importance of the different purposes which press upon each one 
for choice. Moreover, if the student gets close enough to the 
life of men in different ages, so that he feels the throb of their 
impulses, his own thinking must receive a flavour, a quality, and 
sometimes there appears a humility of spirit before so great a 
drama of toil, long and patient, of aspirations, of joys and of 
sorrows, a humility of spirit not far from morality, unless it 
passes over into the region of mere sentimentalism. 

Another result of the study of history should be an enlight- 
ened patriotism, or at least its intellectual counterpart, for 

something more than knowledge is required to 

• T . . .. , . . c Patriotism, 

make a patriot. It is impossible to look for 

patriotic feeling from one who is ignorant of what his country 
has stood for in the development of civilization. On the 
other hand it would be difficult to stifle feelings of love for a 
country which had been the shelter of many generations, which 
had called out the self-sacrificing devotion of some of the 
greatest men of all time, and had always meant much to the 
hopes of those everywhere who loved liberty. The difficulty is 
not the mere exciting of feelings of patriotism, it is the cultiva- 
tion of a patriotism which shall be faithful to the nation's best 
traditions. 1 



1 Professor Lavisse remarks in reference to this: "The cultivation of 
national sentiment is a delicate affair. It is necessary above all to 
strengthen the natural love of native land, to make this instinct intelli- 
gent and to illumine it, but, in France, we must never forget the man in 
the Frenchman, nor belittle for the apparent profit of our own country 
the work of mankind." A propos de nos Ecoles, 80-81. 

Dr. Jager protests against the endeavour to make everything in history 
contribute to the cultivation of patriotism. He says no greater blunder 
can be made than to " preach " patriotism. Such stories as Therm opylse 
and Marathon can be trusted to do their own preaching. He adds : " Let 
the teacher tell his story as a man and not as a schoolmaster, as a 
patriot, which it is to be hoped he is, and on that account able to under- 
stand the deep patriotism of a man like Aristides or Demosthenes. Let 
him not guard against his enthusiasm if it breaks forth from his soul 
unbidden, at the narrative of a brave deed; but let him not seek 
for it, for the more he looks for it, the less likely he will be to find it." 
Geschichtsunterrichts, p. 24. 

Flint remarks : " History serves patriotism best when she maintains a 



90 THE VALUE OF HISTORY 

History, certainly as much as any other object of study, requires 
an intelligent search for truth, and the historian is obliged to 
follow after it through a more difficult way than 
even the scientist, because he must hunt among 
records which often contain erroneous statements or wilful dis- 
tortions of what actually occurred. Even the child may early 
begin to understand that it is not merely some account that is 
desired, but an account which is true, and that popular preju- 
dices and partisan epithets must give place to a fair judgment 
based on all the evidence that can be found. This constant 
endeavour to discover truth must result in an increased respect 
for it, and in an habitual inclination to take some pains to 
know what it is. 

An added respect for truth is not the only habit of mind that 
should come from the enlightened study of history. Many 
times on the road toward the establishment of a 
fact there is an opportunity for weighing evidence, 
an exercise of the judgment which may become more skilful with 
each occasion for use. Even where there is no elaborate search 
amid conflicting reports there is opportunity to acquire the habit 
of holding the judgment in suspense until the matter has been 
examined on all sides. For example, was Robert E. Lee right in 
following his State, or should Lafayette have cast in his lot with 
the French Revolutionists after the overthrow of the King? 
This soberness of judgment is akin to charity, which is the chief 
of the virtues. It is exhibited in its highest form in the impar- 
tial historian who succeeds in so restoring some vexed past age 
that it is difficult to detect a single exhibition of personal preju- 
dice. A quality implying a self-restraint so admirable is not 
without definite ethical value. 

There are purely intellectual habits strengthened or created 
by the study of history. Few subjects call the child's power of 
imagination into such comprehensive and vigorous activity. 



severe impartiality and critical independence of judgment, and tells the 
truth, the whole truth, and nothing but the truth, however unpleasant 
to patriotism that may be." 358. 



THE VALUE OF HISTORY 9 1 

To successfully present to the mind, and hold before it long 
enough to allow of analysis and inference, a past age, with its 
distinguishing features, is certainly a difficult task. 
But once the mind is trained to perform it, such a 
task becomes easier. Instead of flashes of light into the dark- 
ness of the world that is past, the field that is illumined becomes 
more and more extended, so that it is impossible longer to 
recall the older, narrow horizon. For all the higher tasks of 
citizenship such imaginative power has its obvious value. 

All the habits of intellectual work which are furthered by the 
serious study of history may be comprehensively described by 
the phrase "historical attitude of mind," or "think- Thinking 
ing historically." In this attitude the notion of ffistoricall y- 
orderly development takes the place of the idea that there is a 
dead level of happenings. Historical standards of judgment 
are substituted for mere abstract ethical ideals in the task of 
estimating the careers of individuals, or even the character of 
whole civilizations. There is an effort at intellectual detachment, 
in order to examine phenomena without giving personal preju- 
dices undue influence, and in order to seek in the events 
themselves the means of interpreting them. Love of truth, 
clear-sightedness, sanity of judgment are the indispensable qual- 
ities of this historical attitude of mind. Although such an 
ideal lies far beyond the pupil, it is not so distant that he can- 
not gradually gain a clearer appreciation of its value. 

The study of history, properly directed, has another result, 

perhaps less elusive in its character, and this is training in the 

use of books. Such training will not come from the 

& Use of Books, 

use of a single text-book, with no work in other 

books. A method so inadequate is already discredited, so that 
some use of books is now generally implied. The main obstacle 
to successful training of this sort is the absence of school libra- 
ries, or of libraries accessible to pupils. If these obstacles are 
overcome, a double advantage will result, a little experience 
and skill in placing a rough and ready valuation upon books as 
tools, and a habit of using books, so that if the pupil's interest 



92 THE VALUE OF HISTORY 

in history has been stimulated he may easily find the material 
with which still further to nourish it. 

Little has been said, except by implication, about the pleasures 
which historical study may bring within the reach of the student. 
Intellectual Condorcet remarked over a century ago that low 
Delights. pleasures seem attractive to the people because of 
their intellectual impotency. " These vices come," he adds, 
" from the need of escaping ennui in moments of leisure, and 
in escaping from it through sensations and not through ideas." 1 
To elevate the range of the pupil's possible pleasures is surely 
one of the highest objects of education. The way to accomplish 
this has already been pointed out. It is through a skilful stimu- 
lation of the pupil's interests, so that he may find some of his 
greatest delights in penetrating deeper and deeper into the 
world which history can reveal to him. 

A subject the study of which results in such intellectual and 
moral advantage should not be condemned to struggle for a 
footing in the schoolhouse. If its value has not always been 
apparent, this is due to unskilful handling, and should lead to 
greater efforts to intrust it to well-educated teachers. 



Payne's Compayre's History of Pedagogy, 38] 



CHAPTER VI 

THE AIM EST TEACHING CIVICS 
BIBLIOGRAPHY. 

Bryce, James. The Teaching of Civic Duty. Contemporary Re- 
view, LXIV. 14-28. 

Committee of Seven, pp. 81-85, and passim. 

Committee of Ten, pp. 179-181, and passim. 

Compayre, G. Civic Instruction, pp. 408-416, in Lectures on Peda- 
gogy. 

Hadley, A. T. Political Education. Atlantic Monthly, LXXXVI. 

i4S" I S I - 

Hills, F. A. Aims in Teaching Civil Government. National Educa- 
tional Association, 1891, pp. 657-665. 

Hinsdale, B. A. Teaching Civics, pp. 315-335 of How to Study and 
Teach History. 

James, E. J., and others. Necessity of Teaching the Duties of 
Citizenship in the Public Schools. Proceedings of the 12th Annual 
Convention of the Association of Colleges and Preparatory Schools of 
the Middle States and Maryland. Albany, University of the State of 
New York, 1899. 

Civics, like history, has only within recent years got beyond 
the stage of utter neglect or perfunctory attention. When it was 
called " Constitution of the United States," it con- The Older 
sisted chiefly of learning by heart the text of that civics - 
document and of studying a few comments on the several 
clauses. Such a method was fitted to give the children a lasting 
distaste for the subject. The course is now usually named 
either civics or civil government, and the scope has been cor- 
respondingly broadened, although it is still a little vague. 

To speak generally, pupils may be instructed in the duties 
of citizenship in two ways : first, by studying the structure of 
government and the duties of the individual in relation to it ; 
and, second, by discipline in the performance of such social 



94 THE AIM IN TEACHING CIVICS 

duties as fall to them during school life, with the expectation that 
thereby sound habits may be created and good citizenship may 
be only a continuation of the earlier training in conduct. When 
civics is mentioned it is usually understood in the first sense, 
and this, accordingly, will be considered first. 

Civics is an adaptation of the material of political science to 
a less scientific, more ' immediately practical use. Political 
Relations to science must describe with impartial comprehen- 
Political siveness the many different forms the state has 

assumed, in Europe as well as in America, in ancient 
and in modern times. Its object is not the cultivation of 
patriotism, but the furthering of knowledge. Civics, on the 
contrary, is interested in the growth of foreign or historic in- 
stitutions only in so far as a study of these may bring into 
clearer relief the characteristics of government in the United 
States. For example, the development of the English parlia- 
mentary system is not properly a part of the subject, and yet 
it may be profitable to study the way in which the problem 
of representation was gradually worked out, or to measure the 
responsibility of congressmen to their constituents by noting the 
less assured tenure of the member of parliament. So also in 
studying the powers of the president it may be enlightening to 
examine the position of the French president, and to compare 
the methods of election adopted in the two countries. Conse- 
quently, civics involves a work of selection quite outside the 
purpose of political science. And the aim according to which 
the selection is made is practical ; it seeks to use only that 
knowledge which is particularly adapted to fit pupils for the per- 
formance of the duties of citizenship. 

Political science, and therefore civics, is in a peculiar sense 
dependent upon history. This is so true that some persons 
Relation to nave argued that if history be well taught there is 
History. n0 ne ed of a separate course in civics. It is 

history that is gradually marking out in minute detail the lines 
on which institutions have hitherto developed, and in this way 
revealing their real character. The converse of this is equally 



THE AIM IN TEACHING CIVICS 95 

true. The growth of institutions points out one of the elements 
of continuity in history, relieving it from the charge of being a 
meaningless chronicle. Professor Mace says that " We may 
safely set up the growth of institutional life as the standard " 
by which to determine what events possess historical value. 1 
Although this may be an extreme statement, because there are 
other things which equally deserve study, it shows how inter- 
dependent are civics and history. 

Civics is often taught as if it were a descriptive subject, ignor- 
ing the fact that laws and constitutions, like everything else 
in this living world, are in a constant process idea of 
of change. Such a mistake would be impossible Devel °P ment - 
were the relation of civics to history sufficiently emphasized, 
for the most fundamental notion in history is development. It 
is true that civics is chiefly interested in the present condition 
of institutions, and that it is to this extent descriptive ; but if its 
descriptions ignore the historical development of institutions, 
the pupil will naturally receive the impression that there is a 
peculiar fixedness about governmental forms. This impression 
of fixedness is partly responsible for that false confidence in 
mere machinery, which leads men to feel that they have 
secured a reform when they have merely devised a new city 
charter or a state constitution. Too much emphasis has been 
put upon the fact that we have a written constitution. It 
would be truer to say that we started with a written constitu- 
tion which shifting political conditions speedily began to re- 
shape. The process of growth in institutions is not much less 
rapid with a people who set their constitutions upon paper than 
it is with those who rely almost solely upon custom and pre- 
cedent. Indeed, by the time the French came to draw up a 
constitution for their Third Republic, they did not feel the need 
of giving the instrument formal completeness; they simply 
passed a few constitutional laws. A century's experiences had 
taught them that documents are but a slight barrier to sudden 
change. 

1 Method in History, 6j. 



96 THE AIM IN TEACHING CIVICS 

The most wisely framed charter or constitution cannot pro- 
vide for every need that is likely to arise, nor can it furnish a 

channel for all the currents of political life in a 
Expansion. 

great and expanding people, where conditions 

change profoundly from one generation to the next This 
implies that constitutional provisions receive a larger meaning 
in practice, and also that about the legally constituted govern- 
mental machinery there grows a customary government, often 
with quite as much actual power. The history of presidential 
elections is the best illustration of this fact, for the electoral 
college has been practically superseded by the convention sys- 
tem, including many de facto authorities from the local boss to 
the national committee. Such facts belong to civics, and the 
picture of this ceaseless labour of political construction so 
characteristic of highly organized communities is more likely to 
stimulate the intelligence of the schoolboy than any merely de- 
scriptive summary of the forms of local, State, and national 
government. 

This does not argue that no separate course in civics should 
be given. The historical facts which throw light upon the 
A Separate nature and origin of modern institutions are 
Course. generally hidden away in some narrative the main 

point of which is not institutional development, so that they 
must be detached from their historical setting and must be 
brought into relation to the particular bit of governmental 
machinery which they serve to explain. It is evident that the 
historical aspects of government can profitably be emphasized 
only with older students. 1 The work in the elementary school 
can touch them rarely, and where the matter is well within the 
comprehension of a child who cannot yet be expected to think 
historically. 

Furthermore, there are some features of civics to the compre- 



1 Mr. Bryce raises another point. He says : " While heartily desiring 
to see history better taught, and to see it used to illustrate contemporary 
politics, I look upon the latter subject [civics] as really an easier one 
than the former, and sufficiently distinct to deserve an independent place 
in the curriculum." Contemporary Review, LXIV. 21. 



THE AIM IN TEACHING CIVICS 97 

hension of which history is less important. Taxation, for 
example, has an interesting history, but such a method of deal- 
ing with the subject is altogether beyond even the pupil of the 
secondary school. It is enough for him to become interested 
in the manner in which taxes are levied, the purposes for which 
the money should be expended, and in the safeguards which it 
may be necessary to throw about the management of such 
affairs in order that the community may be protected from the 
dishonesty of its own servants. Because of the interest that 
belongs to such questions as these it has been asserted that the 
" study of civics, while it has something in common with that 
of history has, in a certain way, a marked advantage over it ; 
for history belongs to the past, but civics to the present . . . 
the issues of the one are dead, of the other living." x Many of 
the topics with which civics deals are matters constantly dis- 
cussed by the press and in conversation, so that they seem of 
more vital, immediate importance than any question history can 
raise, especially since history is often taught as if it had no con- 
nection with the world in which the pupil lives. Nevertheless, 
it must be reaffirmed that without history civics is narrow in 
scope and superficial in treatment. 2 

It is a mistake to rest the claim for the teaching of civics 
wholly upon its practical value as a preparation for citizenship. 
It is a study of an important phase of human society, and for 
this reason has the same value as elementary science or his- 
tory. By it the attention of the child is called to many distinct 
acts, the work of the fireman, the policeman, the postmaster, 
the mayor, the congressman, and the like, and he is asked to 
put all these together into an intelligible whole. When this is 
once accomplished, he, for the first time, realizes how complex 
is the life of the community in which he shares. But the task 



1 F. A. Hill in Proceedings of the National Educational Association, 
1891, p. 661. 

2 Compayre says : " We must never separate ' to-day ' and ' formerly ' ; 
and civic instruction will not be fruitful unless it is ever stimulating a 
comparison between contemporary institutions and ancient institutions." 
Lectures on Pedagogy, 412. 

7 



98 THE AIM IN TEACHING CIVICS 

is not yet completed. It is necessary to lead his mind up from 
the actual combination of all these social or political activities 
to the problems of government of which these offer various 
practical solutions. This can be done, most easily, if the pupil 
be sufficiently mature, by showing how other contemporaneous 
peoples have arranged for the performance of the same duties. 
He cannot be expected to enter into these matters with the 
penetrating intelligence of older persons, but he may obtain 
glimpses of the elements of the problem. The effort will train 
his powers of observation, and will accustom him to consider 
matters of this sort, so that when he grows up he will not stand 
helpless before the varied phenomena of modern political 
society. 

Such a result is worth striving for, but it is the ambition of the 
school to accomplish more, to raise the standard of civic con- 
Ethical duct m tne community by means of the well-trained 
Result. pupils it sends forth from year to year. To what 
extent is this more important object attainable ? The knowl- 
edge the pupil receives should reveal to him his relations to 
other members of society, and make clear to him his duties and 
responsibilities. This is an ethical result, for such information, 
the moment it rises to the clearness of knowledge, is likely to 
beget in him at least some generous desire to play a man's part 
in the community. The difficulty is that what the pupil 
receives in school is only a small part of the civic instruction 
he gains as he grows older. He may afterwards become the 
victim of the low traditions of political morality which he finds 
current on the streets. 1 



1 Professor E. J. James, in an address delivered before the Association 
of Colleges and Preparatory Schools of the Middle States and Maryland, 
not only recognised this antithesis between the teaching of the school 
and of the street, but he declared "that it would be, logically speaking, 
perfectly possible to instil such a lofty -standard of conduct and feeling 
in the pupils of our schools as would make them entirely unfit to live in 
our existing society. I do not think," he added, " that this would be, 
practically speaking, possible, as the training of the home, of the street, 
of society, and even of the church tends to counteract any tendency to a 
too rapid upward movement." 1898 Report, p. 145. 



THE AIM IN TEACHING CIVICS 99 

Unless the knowledge which the pupil receives is transmuted 
into impulses to right action, it has little relation to the per- 
formance of the duties of citizenship. As President Hadley 
has remarked, " A true political education ... is not a 
study of facts about civil government. A man may possess a 
vast knowledge with regard to the workings of our social and 
political machinery, and yet be absolutely untrained in those 
things which make a good citizen." x Even as knowledge it is 
incomplete, for definite political action is not guided by facts 
about the structure of government ; its most effective guide is 
an experience that comes from a share in the political struggles 
of the community. Such experience implies an understand- 
ing of men, and of all the petty details that make up each 
new situation, details that can be mastered only in contact with 
men. Civics can therefore fit the pupil only indirectly for the 
actual duties of citizenship. 

If the school could lay the foundations for the later con- 
struction of a sound public sentiment, its teaching of civics 
would be successful, even though the pupils went sound Public 
out knowing little of the intricacies of the Ameri- Sentiment, 
can administrative system. 2 The facts that are indispensable 
could be easily acquired ; it is the intelligent honesty of purpose 
that one cannot impart to another in the course of an afternoon's 
talk. Something can be done by making clear to the pupils 
that integrity is a guarantee of good government surer than 
model constitutions. The history of American cities amply 
illustrates this. 

It is difficult to teach ideals of public conduct directly. The 



1 Atlantic Monthly, LXXXVI. 145. 

2 "This," says President Hadley, "civics and its kindred subjects, as 
ordinarily taught, do not now accomplish : they tend to fix the attention 
of the pupil on the mechanism of free government rather than on its 
underlying principles ; to exaggerate the tendency, which is too strong at 
best, toward laying stress on institutions rather than on character as a 
means of social salvation ; to prepare the minds of the next generation to 
look to superficial remedies for political evils, instead of seeing that the 
only true remedy lies in the creation of a sound public sentiment." 
Ibid., 145. 

LofC. 



IOO THE AIM IN TEACHING CIVICS 

teacher who attempts this is in danger of becoming either dull 
or sentimental, and the boy who has been forced to listen to 
Teaching swelling words naturally comes to regard principles 
Civic Ideals. anc [ ideals as wearisome phrases, with little bear- 
ing upon real life. To avoid this danger it is well to resort 
again to history, and to seek out illustrations of those qualities 
to which peoples have owed their political greatness. Such 
illustrations can be found in the careers of men like Sir John 
Eliot, who died for the freedom of debate ; like Samuel Adams, 
who contended for the right of self-government ; or Gladstone, 
who used his powers as a leader to rectify historic wrongs ; or 
Lincoln, who fell in the struggle to preserve the Union. 

As it was suggested at the beginning of the chapter, there is 
another way in which pupils may be prepared for the duties of 

. citizenship, that is, by discipline in the performance 

through of such social duties as fall to them during their school 

life. The control of the conduct of pupils often 
seems a disagreeable task, but it is so largely because it is not 
recognised as the teacher's greatest opportunity. An infraction 
of necessary school regulations is sometimes a piece of good 
fortune, for it gives the intelligent teacher a chance to show the 
offender the relation of his act to the interests of the school and 
to the rights of the other pupils. But the opportunity to incul- 
cate the principles of altruism through sweet reasonableness is 
not the only valuable element in discipline. As the members of 
the community must learn the necessity of obedience to law and 
must become conscious of the value of firmness on the part of 
the government, it is well that they be confronted with this fact 
at the earliest moment, if not at home certainly in the school. 

It is possible also to add to the school's ordinary opportuni- 
ties for social training by organizing debating clubs and mock 
School congresses, and by encouraging the pupils to carry 

Organizations. on their class and athletic organizations honourably 
and by correct methods. 1 

1 See Mr. Hill's remarks on the use of such organizations, op. cit. 
659-660. Professor James remarks that " A mock congress or city 



THE AIM IN TEACHING CIVICS 101 

There have been several interesting experiments, looking to 
a larger application of such means of political and social train- 
ing. One of these is " the George Junior Republic/' George junior 
which grew out of one of the many schemes to give Republic. 
the children of the poor a summer in the country. After 
trying the usual plan for several summers, the projector, Mr. 
William George, discovered that the moral results of the charity 
were unsatisfactory, and determined to require the children to 
do some form of work for what they received. But it was the 
difficulty of enforcing discipline which led him to adopt the 
distinguishing features of his plan. He found that the only 
effective method of control was by lodging power and responsi- 
bility with the boys for their own self-government, and even if 
they made mistakes, not to interfere except for grave moral 
reasons, so that they might learn by experience, and that their 
sense of responsibility might not be weakened. The applica- 
tion of these principles resulted finally in the establishment of a 
miniature republic, with congress, courts, police, and jails. The 
laws were not to be inconsistent with the laws of New York 
State or of the United States, but within these limits the con- 
gressmen might pass such laws as they deemed wise, and might 
punish their infraction by fine, in the money of the republic, 
or by imprisonment, with hard labour at the " stone pile." The 
experiment was made of entrusting even the management of 
the property on which the Republic was situated to the minia- 
ture government. The result of this was not wholly satisfactory, 
for there was an inflation of the currency, followed by a violent 
political struggle between the " free tin " party and the 
" people's " party. The most noteworthy achievement of the 



council, if it becomes interesting and vital, will soon call forth from the 
boys manifestations of that same spirit in them which disgraces the real 
Congress and the real council in real life. I have even found school 
boys selling their votes for candy and trading them off for votes in return." 
He adds, " To do this work well the teachers themselves must be edu- 
cated and trained and interested in these matters as they are not, alas, 
at present, but certainly as they ought to be if they are to be guardians 
of our future citizens." Op. cit. 146, 153-154. 



102 THE AIM IN TEACHING CIVICS 

Republic has been the transformation of many a precocious 
" tough " of the New York streets into a self-respecting citizen. 
This has not been merely the result of the machinery devised, 
it has been quite as much due to the spirit of the founder of 
the Republic and to his watchful care. 1 

There is little, if any, of the work included in civics which 
is not as valuable for the training of girls as it is for that of boys. 
Result for If the course were merely a preparation for the duty 
Girls. f V oting ? or for an active participation in politics, 

the case would be different. Its chief result must be a better 
understanding of the community and a more intelligent attitude 
toward its problems. 

The claims of civics have not been neglected by the com- 
mittees which have recently been working to improve the school 
Work of curriculum. The Madison Conference urged that 

Committees. « in the grammar schools it should be taught by 
oral lessons with the use of collateral text-books, and in con- 
nection with United States history and local geography." In 
the high schools there was to be a text-book as a basis, sup- 
plemented by collateral reading and topical work. The pupils 
were also to study local institutions and to compare American 
with foreign systems of government. Subsequent committees 
have done little except to attempt to embody this recommenda- 
tion in a working programme. The Committee of Seven 
emphasized the need of closely correlating the subject with 
history, even where there was time for a separate course, and 
they make Civil Government with American History one of the 
four fields for the secondary school. Meanwhile the New 
England Association of Colleges and Preparatory Schools and 
the New York Conference had included the (l elements of civil 
government " with American history as one of the subjects 
which they asked the colleges to accept for entrance require- 
ment. Consequently this became a part of the accepted 



1 W. I. Hull, Annals of the American Academy, X. 73-86. J. R. 
Commons, American Journal of Sociology, III. 281-296, 433-448. 



THE AIM IN TEACHING CIVICS 103 

requirements with those institutions which agreed to accept the 
results of the Conference. Moreover the committee of the 
National Educational Association included civil government 
with American history as constituting together the indispensable 
element in every requirement for preparation in history. It 
appears, therefore, that civics is to profit by the increased 
interest and intelligent attention to history. 

Civics, like history, has been gradually making its way into 
the lower grades. Sometimes it is combined with history, 
sometimes with geography, or again it is treated present 
separately. Two or three examples may show the Sltuati(m - 
tendency in the best schools. In one case, a beginning is 
made in the first and second grades with the names of the 
mayor,, of the governor, of the president, with a little of the local 
geography. In the third grade the relation of the city to the 
State, and of the State to the whole group of States is explained, 
and the pupils are to locate all the public buildings in the city, 
and learn to what political division they belong. In this man- 
ner the subject is unfolded, proceeding from the familiar to the 
more remote. The fourth grade pupils are to learn more about the 
counties, those of the fifth about the school district organization, 
those of the sixth about the District of Columbia, the city of 
Washington, and the manner of electing a president. The 
seventh, eighth, and ninth grades take up more formally the local, 
State, and national governments, and by the use of debating 
clubs and the like seek to give the pupils experience in the 
management of assemblies. The ninth grade work is arranged to 
begin when the pupils have reached in American history the 
period of the Constitution. 1 In another case civics is begun 
under the comprehensive term " Conduct and Government," 
which, with history, appear as parts of " Language " work for 
the first six grades. Contact with the experience of the child is 
sought by starting with school and family organization, and by 
the use of stories and of festivals. In the fourth grade the 



1 Hartford, Conn. 



104 THE AIM IN TEACHING CIVICS 

child is given an elementary knowledge of the city government. 
From the fifth grade the subject is treated incidentally in 
connection with history. 1 In still another case, in the earlier 
grades beginning with the third, the subject is definitely treated 
with geography, and for the later, the seventh, eighth, and ninth, 
with history. And here also the attempt is made to take 
advantage at the outset of an already existing interest in local 
affairs to awaken further curiosity about them, in order that the 
deeper interest so created may vivify the study of more remote 
institutions. Probably the larger number of the great city school 
systems still provide for the teaching of civics incidentally to 
the teaching of history, or assign a brief separate course in the 
last year of the elementary school. 

In the secondary school programme the subject has usually 
been given one term in the senior year, particularly for students 
Secondary wno were not preparing for college. It has some- 
Schools, times been studied separately and sometimes as a 
fitting conclusion to the course in American history. It is in 
the secondary school especially that the method of teaching 
the subject has shown the greatest improvement. This appears 
from the gradual displacement of the older text-books, con- 
taining dry comments upon the Constitution, clause by clause, 
by works which interest the pupil in the origin and growth of 
institutions, and in those modifications of even written constitu- 
tions which appear in the actual administration of great nations. 
The adequate study of civics is more important in the elemen- 
tary school than in the secondary school, because compara- 
tively few pupils enter the secondary schools, or, entering, 
go as far as the senior year, when this subject is usually 
offered. The chief problem connected with civics, therefore, 
is to use the subject effectively in giving these younger pupils 
some insight into the organization of the communities in which 
they live, in showing them the cost of each institution in the 
efforts and sacrifices of past generations, and in quickening and 



1 Cleveland. Ohio. 



THE AIM IN TEACHING CIVICS 105 

making permanent their interest in public life and their sense 
of responsibility to their fellows. 1 



1 The problem is thus summed up by Professor James : " While we 
must grant that the education of the citizen is a complex resultant of all 
the forces, family, social, political, religious, commercial, educational, 
which are working upon the child from its earliest youth throughout life ; 
while we must admit that though the school or college should give no 
time or place in its curriculum for the formal training of youth for citi- 
zenship, there would still be in the life of the school, of the playground, 
of the family, of society, and of the street a most valuable element, nay, 
perhaps, the most valuable element in any possible training for citizen- 
ship. We maintain, first, that this life itself, at least in the school and on 
the playground, may be made of far more use by the intelligent teacher 
than it is at present in the way of developing social and political habits 
in children which will be of use to the future citizen and in connection 
with these habits higher standards of duties and morals ; second, that 
further aid can be given by systematic instruction in civics adapted to 
the age and mental development of the child and extending from the 
kindergarten through the college, and instruction that shall inform the 
child as to the facts of our social and political life, and interest him in the 
social as well as political duties of a useful citizen." Op. cit. 155. 



CHAPTER VII 

THE PROGRAMME FOR HISTORY 1 

It is clear from what has already been set forth that although 
the claims of history and of civics have been ably advocated by 

the recent committees which have been at work on 
Experience 

and a Pro- this part of the school programme, the actual prac- 
granune. ^ ce - n ^ sc h 00 i s j s st uj f ar f rom satisfactory. Any 

attempt to better the condition of affairs must take account of 
what is actually being done as well as of the ideals which thought- 
ful schoolmen cherish. It will be useful to bring together and 
embody in a programme what seem to be the most available sug- 
gestions for the different parts of the work from the beginning 
of the elementary school to the end of the secondary school. 

In constructing such a plan it will be assumed that the work 
of the elementary school should not be regarded merely as pre- 
paratory to that done in the secondary school, and that the 
work of the secondary school is only in a slight measure pre- 
paratory to college work. The reasons for this have already been 
stated. It will also be necessary to remember that the problem 
of the rural school differs from the problem of the elementary 
school in towns and cities. 

The recommendations of the Committee of Twelve provide 

adequately for the teaching of history in the rural schools. 2 

According to them the subject is to be taught dur- 

Rural Scnools. . r . sa^i a c 

mg each of four two-year groups/ At the end ot 

the third period the character of the work changes.. It ceases 



1 See bibliography of Chapter IV., and references in the foot-notes. 

2 Report of the Committee of Twelve, 174-175. 

3 Cp. the Three-grade programme submitted by Dr. E. E. White, 
p. 167. Here there is no history until the third grade or group, and then 
only American history. 



THE PROGRAMME FOR HISTORY 107 

to be made up of stories and biographical tales, and, to speak 
accurately, becomes for the first time history. 

The work of the pupils from eleven to thirteen years of age 
is made up of two parts : first, " Selected epochs of general 
history, with the study of leading historical characters, a course 
of readings and conversations " with the " Main object to 
develop a love for historical reading " ; second, " A course of 
study in United States history." If the first part were narrowly 
understood, such a recommendation would mark only a slight 
advance on what is actually being done, which would be 
deplorable, for every effort should be made to relieve historical 
teaching in the schools from the just reproach of fostering pro- 
vincialism. It is possible to interpret the recommendation 
generously, and to understand by it such a study of Europe as 
would give the pupils of even the rural schools an intelligent 
interest in the lands that sent their ancestors to this country 
and which gave them the traditions of an historical civilization. 

In the earlier years of the rural school the work does not dif- 
fer essentially from that which should be done in all schools, — 
work closely connected with language study and reading, con- 
sisting of myths, legends, biographical tales. 

The Madison Conference said that the more careful study of 
history should not " be delayed beyond the eleventh, or at the 
latest, the twelfth year" of the pupil's life, but in The Age for 
the programme which the Conference drew up it Beginnings. 
assigned the first two years to biography and mythology. It is 
certainly possible to obtain another year for the formal study of 
history. The committee of the New England History Teachers' 
Association which reported in 1899 on a course of study made, 
however, substantially the same recommendation, for they divided 
the elementary work into two cycles, the first to continue from 
the second school year to the end of the fifth, and the second 
from the sixth through the ninth years. The second cycle was to 
begin with a " review and revision of Grecian, Roman, and 
Norse mythology," which had been the subject during the first 
cycle, and this review would be likely to take the most of the 



108 THE PROGRAMME FOR HISTORY 

sixth year. 1 If the practice of the most highly organized 
schools is consulted, it will be found that in some cases the 
attempt is made to begin in the fifth school year a course, 
chiefly biographical, on American history. Under the circum- 
stances it is not hazardous to suggest that the division in 
the elementary school should fall between the fourth and 
fifth years or grades. The later years may be called grammar, 
in distinction from the preceding or primary grades. 

The suggestion of the Madison Conference that Greek and 
Roman history be taught in the last year of the grammar school 
Distribution nas not been carried out. Subsequent committees 
of Subjects. nave on the whole agreed to place this ancient 
history in the first, or in the first and second year of the secon- 
dary school. The New England teachers recommend English 
history for the last year of the grammar school, and this con- 
forms most generally to the practice, wherever there is an 
attempt to teach anything besides American history. If this 
suggestion were adopted, the work of the grammar school 
would be made up of American history, English history, and 
civics. 

Although salvation is not to be found in the multiplication of 
programmes, there is reason to search for an outline of work which 
A Comprehen- shall better provide for those elements of historical 
sive Scheme, knowledge and those broader historical interests 
which the American pupil should attain during his school life. 
His traditions, his civilization, his intellectual inheritance, he 
does not receive from England alone, but also from Europe, 
and from all those great Europeans of the Middle Ages and 
the days of Greece and Rome who have had a share in making 
the present world what it is. Moreover, not until long after 
the settlement of Jamestown and the founding of Boston did 
the history of America become anything more than one important 
expression of the life of England and Europe. Consequently 
the problem which confronts the maker of programmes 
is so to map out the field of study that the pupil will be 

1 Report, No. 3, p. 25. 



THE PROGRAMME FOR HISTORY 109 

introduced into this larger world to which he really, though 
unconsciously, belongs. The field must be treated as a whole, 
it is not enough to study this part and that part, a little Greek 
history, a little Roman history, some English history, and Ameri- 
can history. In the following programme an attempt is made 
to accomplish this result : — 

5 th grade — Biographical treatment of American history. 

6th grade — Selected periods of European history. 

7th grade — American colonial history, taught as apart of 
the contemporary history of England, with its European con- 
nections. 

8th grade — American history since 1783, Civics, the growth 
of the great states of Europe since 18 15. 

There are some parts of this plan that need no urging. Ameri- 
can history in the fifth and eighth grades is already customary, 
and should not be displaced. The whole plan may be ex- 
plained as follows : — 

If the child is to begin the study of history at the age of 
eleven, he should first take up that with which he is already 
familiar, because it is only through the familiar that 
he can work toward the unfamiliar. Since child- FlfthGrade * 
hood he has repeatedly heard many of the names which belong 
to American history and has learned some of the better known 
stories. His first task should be to fill out the tale, to place all 
these events in a continuous whole, to develop his power to 
grasp the career of a people. The work for this first year 
should be mainly through stories, incidents, bits of biography. 
It must demand none but the feeblest efforts of the historical 
imagination. It is simply a beginning. 

The only part of the plan that may be questioned is the work 
marked out for the sixth and seventh grades. It will not be 
denied that it is necessary for the children who never Sixt]l and 
go beyond the elementary school to obtain some Seventh 
instruction in the history of Europe, and to gain Grades# 
such an interest in the subject that they will desire to extend 
the little knowledge they get by reading in later life. The 



110 THE PROGRAMME FOR HISTORY 

questions centre upon the method and upon the way in which 
the time for such work may be found. 

It may be asked why is not English history better than a 
selection, however judiciously made, from the whole period of 
European history ? If the aim of teaching history 
English were chiefly to explain the political institutions of 

History. ^ United States and the particular manner in 

which this country has been settled, it would be enough to give 
the pupils a course in English history, but one of the aims 
should be to awaken or to strengthen an interest in the wider 
experience of all those peoples whose achievements have become 
a part of our common heritage, and without some knowledge 
of which we cannot understand our own civilization. More- 
over, the study of European history does not preclude the study 
of English history, it merely does not permit its study in much 
detail. Pupils twelve or thirteen years of age cannot get a 
complete idea of the development of English civilization, and 
there will be no serious loss if they are taught the more signifi- 
cant incidents of its earlier history in connection with similar 
incidents in European history. When the period of Henry 
Seventh, of the discoveries, and of the Reformation is reached, 
the situation changes, England becomes more distinct from the 
Continent, and its history should receive greater emphasis. 
This may be done in the course arranged for the seventh 
grade. 

The content of the sixth grade course should cover both 
ancient and mediaeval history, treated in a manner similar to 
the method adopted for the fifth grade. If the 
work in " language " has been well done in the 
earlier grades, the pupils already know many of the old Greek 
and Roman stories. Moreover, the incidents of Greek history 
are often far closer to the child's imagination than even the 
more familiar tales of American history. Everything is drawn 
in bold and simple lines. Marathon, Thermopylae, Salamis : 
there is little here to puzzle the boy or girl of twelve. Greek 
city life also is comprehensible ; there is no complex adminis- 



THE PROGRAMME FOR HISTORY III 

trative system, no highly developed form of representative 
government which must be understood before one can know 
the people. With Rome the case is different ; but there should 
be no attempt to teach children the complexities of the 
Roman constitution ; they need to know that there was a Rome, 
something of the wonderful story of its rise and of the great 
men who belonged to its history, either as its heroes or its 
antagonists, — Scipio, Hannibal, Marius, Caesar, Constantine. 
The general features of mediaeval history are equally instructive 
for children. The period is full of tales and pictures which 
enrich the imagination and awaken interest in the experiences 
of men. As the theme of the second half of the course is the 
mediaeval system, illustrated from its greater heroes and from its 
characteristic incidents, there are several reasons why it should 
be brought to an end at the point of time when that system had 
been destroyed by the successful revolt of Germany under 
Luther, of England under Elizabeth, when Charles Fifth's 
schemes had evidently failed and France was on the verge of 
the religious- civil wars, that is, about the year 1560. Such an 
arrangement of material will also simplify the subject for the 
work of the seventh grade. 

The American pupil is in one respect at a disadvantage in 
comparison with the German or French child. For the study 
of mediaeval history the European child can profit- Medieval 
ably use the history of his own country as the main Eistor y* 
subject, because there is scarcely a point at which this history 
is not touched by the history of other peoples, so that it becomes 
necessary constantly to hear of these peoples if the child is to 
know the history of his own land. This is not the case with 
American children until they reach the period of the discoveries. 
Consequently down to the period of the discoveries the aim 
should be to choose those phases of European history which 
left to Americans, as well as to Englishmen, Frenchmen, and 
Germans, a great heritage of memories and institutions. 

In the seventh grade, instead of taking up American colonial 
history in its usual form, the work should be what may be com- 



112 THE PROGRAMME FOR HISTORY 

prehensively described as the Expansion of Europe, or the Es- 
tablishment of the New World. While it should be as broad 

as these phrases suggest, it should at the same time 
Seventh. 

keep the American colonies chiefly in view. To 

state the matter in another way, it should be the expansion of 
Europe, based on the history of England, illustrated principally 
in the founding of the American colonies. The aim should be 
to revive in the mind of the child the actual world-process of 
which American history, and especially early American history, 
is a part. The point of view should so far as possible be that 
of the colonist himself, an Englishman, determined to maintain 
his traditional rights even against the aggressions of the English 
Crown or Parliament, jealously watching the growth of the 
French power in the St. Lawrence valley or west of the Alle- 
ghanies, sharing the hatred of Englishmen at home for the 
Spaniard. If the pupil be allowed to look at everything from 
the standpoint of achieved independence, he will naturally and 
from the first set the American over against the Englishman as 
of a distinct nationality, and this fixed idea will distort all the 
facts of colonial history. 

Two or three illustrations may indicate the advisability of 
combining American colonial history with English and European 
Correlation history. The history of the discoveries is already 
of Events. treated as a phase of the general history of Europe. 
Columbus is the principal figure, and Cabot takes a lesser place. 
Different text-book makers and teachers are apparently not 
agreed as to how much should be included. Since the dis- 
coveries constitute an era in the development of the knowledge 
of the earth, it may be argued from geography as well as from 
history that all the chief voyages or journeys of exploration 
should be taught. Their intrinsic interest further justifies this 
method. The work of Diaz and Da Gama and the work of 
Columbus explain each other. Balboa's discovery of the South 
Sea is doubly interesting if the pupil knows how badly the 
Spaniards were beaten by the Portuguese in the race for the 
rich islands that lay across that South Sea. Albuquerque's 



THE PROGRAMME FOR HISTORY 1 1 3 

sailors had seized Malacca and the Spice Islands two years 
before Balboa even gazed on the Pacific. The voyages of 
Magellan and of Drake form the fitting conclusion to the mar- 
vellous feats of these mariners. 

The same point of view is enlightening for the study of the 
individual colonies. It is much easier to understand the Pil- 
grim and Puritan emigrations as an incident of Another 
English history than it will be if their details are the Illustration, 
chief object of attention, and if only occasional explanations are 
given of the events in England which were their causes. The 
Pilgrims and Puritans left England because of the turn affairs 
were taking. Their character is explained by the events of the 
conflict with James and Charles. It is this conflict also which 
shows why the great emigration came so abruptly to a close and 
why the tide began to set in the opposite direction. 

The separate study of Massachusetts colonial history often 
leads children to erroneous views of England's conduct. In 
the fight for the charter the boy usually scents the value of 
Revolution from afar. This result may be easily Comparison. 
mistaken for the awakening of patriotism. But there were other 
than English colonies in America, and if the boy is told how 
they were governed, his patriotism will become a little more 
discriminating. In no other colonies — the Spanish in the south, 
the Dutch on the Hudson, the French in Canada — was any 
measure of self-government except in municipal affairs granted 
to the settlers themselves. The system by which they were 
administered was the natural outcome of the oligarchical or 
autocratic institutions of Spain, Holland, and France. 

Even in the eighth grade several phases of European history 
are closely connected with the history of the United States, 
especially until the close of the Napoleonic wars. 
The attempt to understand the causes of England's 
conduct after 1803 without reference to the struggle with 
Napoleon argues a singular ignorance of the real situation. 
But the building up of the Great Powers which now control the 
destinies of Europe, if not of the world, lies quite outside the 



114 THE PROGRAMME FOR HISTORY 

sphere of American history. If this is to be studied at all, it 
must be studied separately. A short course covering the most 
important topics should be added after the course in American 
history is finished, and before the civics is begun, if a formal 
course in civics is given in the elementary school. This would 
be chiefly the history of England, France, Germany, Austria, 
and Italy since 1815, with the aim of showing how the present 
Europe has been constituted. 

Such a plan requires more of the teacher than would a 
scheme which limited itself to English history as the only sub- 
Effect upon j ect beyond American history to be taught in the 
Teachers. elementary school, or than a scheme providing for 
a four years' course identical with the high school course, 
although composed of simpler treatments of each topic. A plan 
of the latter sort is offered in a supplementary suggestion to the 
report of the Committee of Seven. 1 

Another objection comes from the suspicious likeness of 
parts of this plan, particularly the course for the sixth grade, to 
"General" what is called i( general" history. So far as the 
History. criticisms of general history are intelligible, they are 

directed against an attempt to teach children a dull summary 
of everything that ever happened. Children should certainly 
not be allowed to get the notion that there is only one, or 
at most, two countries in the world. • This would be a new 
and stupid version of the old distinction between Greeks and 
Barbarians. » 

The programme for the secondary school offers fewer diffi- 
culties, chiefly because it has been longer under discussion, and 
Secondary because, if the work of the committees be compared, 
School. a common standing ground has been reached. It 

is agreed that a four years' course is the ideal toward which the 
schools should steadily work, and many schools have already 
assigned time to history during each of the four years, although 



1 Pages 169-170. This plan provides for " Greek and Roman history 
to 800 a. d." in grade five, mediaeval and modern history in grade six, 
English history in grade seven, and American history in grade eight. 



THE PROGRAMME FOR HISTORY 115 

they have rarely, if ever, been able to give as much time as has 
been recommended by the Committee of Seven. 

It is further generally agreed that the first year should be 
given to the study of Greek and Roman history, with their 
oriental connections, and the last year to American Assignment 
history and civics. It is about the course which of Studies, 
should be offered in the second and third years that there is 
still a pronounced difference of opinion, as will be seen from 
the account of this discussion already given. The Committee 
of Seven urge that the second year be assigned to mediaeval 
and modern history from a. d. 800, and the third year to 
English history, while the committee of the New England 
History Teachers' Association, which had the advantage of 
previous examinations of the conclusions of the Committee of 
Seven, argue for the transposition of these two subjects. This 
committee was influenced by the result reached by the New 
York Conference and embodied in the entrance requirements of 
several colleges, and there the emphasis was laid on two years 
of Greek and Roman history, followed by English and American 
history, treating mediaeval history as a subject for advanced 
work. If the pupils in the elementary school have done the 
work suggested for the sixth and seventh grades, it makes 
little difference whether they take their English history before 
their mediaeval history or after it. It will be simply a question 
of treating each according to its actual position in the pro- 
gramme, whether first or second. For example, if England 
comes first, much of the mediaeval history can be included, 
so that the course in the mediaeval and modern history can take 
up the history of the Continent more in detail at a later 
period when the history of each European people begins to take 
its own individual direction, and when a great institution like 
the Church ceases to dominate and give common character- 
istics to all. 

Another solution of the problem may be advisable, according 
to which the second year's work would be devoted to mediaeval 
history from 395 a. d. to the downfall of the mediaeval system 



Il6 THE PROGRAMME FOR HISTORY 

in the sixteenth century. By this arrangement a brief study of 
the later Roman Empire would serve as an introduction to the 
Another study of the Middle Ages, and the Protestant Revo- 

Arrangement. i u tion, or the Reformation, would show how the 
end came. During the third year the work would be a repro- 
duction on a higher level of what was done in the third year of 
the grammar school course, that is, a correlation of English, 
European, and American colonial history from the discoveries 
until the end of the Revolutionary War. 

The argument for such a use of the third year of the secondary 
school programme is the same as that already advanced in 
Value of explaining a similar plan for the elementary school, 

this Period, The secondary school pupil, with his additional 
training and maturer intellectual power, will be better able to 
understand the relations of all the events which bore on 
the founding of America. Such a new traversing of a field, 
the outlines of which are already familiar, will result in 
a knowledge more complete and an interest more intelligent 
than may be expected if the courses in the secondary school 
do not cover the ground touched in the elementary school. 
This plan is also based on the principle which underlies the 
French and German programmes. 

Since not all schools are able to give history a place during 

each year of either the elementary or the secondary school, it 

may be necessary to abridge so comprehensive a 
Abridgments. J ■' ,._ & . ,.,-,. 

programme. Ihe different committees which have 

reported upon the matter advocate different ways of meeting 

the difficulty. The committee of the National Educational 

Association urge that at all events American history be taught, 

the New England Association of Colleges and Preparatory 

Schools regard Greek and Roman history as indispensable, and 

the Committee of Seven suggest a combination between the 

second and third year courses in case three years' work can be 

provided for. But the friends of history should be disinclined 

to compromise the matter, for the element of time is all 

important. 



CHAPTER VIII 

THE SCHOOL AND THE LIBRARY 
BIBLIOGRAPHY. 

Report of the Committee on the Relations of Public Libraries to Pub- 
lic Schools. 1899. Published separately by the National Educational 
Association. 

Proceedings of the Library Department of the National Educational 
Association. In the several annual reports of the Association. 

See also foot-notes to this chapter. 

" It is by no means necessary that a pupil should take with 
him into the world all the facts of a school-history, but it is 
necessary that he should be provided with a taste The Use of 
for historical reading, and with both the power Books, 
and the disposition to study the subject systematically himself." 
These words of Dr. Fitch, which ascribe to the teaching of 
history an object beyond the acquisition of a certain amount of 
knowledge, imply the use of books, either in a school library or 
in some other library to which teachers and pupils have 
access. Although good teaching may create a strong interest 
in a subject without the aid of books, so that the desire to read 
and study will follow as a natural consequence, this curiosity 
may not be able to satisfy itself intelligently, for no little special 
instruction is needed to prepare pupils, and sometimes teachers, 
for an effective use of books. They do not know how to learn 
what has been published on the subject they are interested in, 
and are unable to determine whether any particular book is 
constructed on the solid foundation of scholarly investigation. 

The interest of the teacher in this matter is distinct from that 
of the pupil. The teacher turns to the library to find not 
only the books of which he may advise or require his pupils to 



Il8 THE SCHOOL AND THE LIBRARY 

read selections, but also those from which he may add to his 
own comprehension of the events he is to interpret. No ordi- 
Bythe nary school library is large enough to meet such 

Teacher. a need. With the development of departmental 

organization in the secondary school, the teacher of history 
will find his scholarly life becoming similar to that of the college 
professor, although he will not be expected to push his investi- 
gations in special fields so far. Even the teacher who has 
received no training in history can by persistent and well- 
directed efforts attain an adequate mastery of the subject. To 
accomplish this it is indispensable that he know the literature 
of the subject, so that he may not stare bewildered at the heaps 
of books, unpractised in the search for what may furnish well- 
authenticated information. The ability to learn quickly what 
books must be taken account of in dealing with a particular 
historical question, or to bring the resources of a library promptly 
under command, is a large part of a sufficient preparation to 
teach history. 

The library furnishes the pupil with some of the tools for his 
work, and offers him the opportunity to satisfy the curiosity 

which his work has awakened. This is not unim- 
By the Pupil. r . . . . . . 

portant, for it is essential that such interest be not 

permitted to die in a vain wish or two for more knowledge, but 

that it be transformed into a permanent intellectual force. He 

must, therefore, be taught something of the search for books, 

and of the way books should be appraised before they are 

accepted at any valuation. 

The information which has been brought together to render 

the search for books successful is called bibliography. 1 Parts of 

it concern scholars engaged in studies of a highly 

specialized character, but its elements are useful 

even to those who have access to only a small collection of 

books. 



1 The best brief treatise on the subject is Manuel de Bibliographie 
historique, by C. V. Langlois, of the University of Paris. Paris, 
Hachette. 1896; 2d ed., 1901. 



THE SCHOOL AND THE LIBRARY 119 

When any one desires to read further on a subject, especially 
if he desire to investigate it with more than ordinary thorough- 
ness, the first inquiry should be, What is the literature of this 
subject, that is, what books in regard to it have been pub- 
lished? One is tempted to go immediately to the shelves of 
a library and look over any book of convenient size which deals 
with the matter. This may not be unsafe if the library has been 
chosen with unusual care. Nevertheless, the reader is exposed 
to the risk of wasting time on untrustworthy accounts. Perhaps 
the library may contain only one volume on the subject, and this 
an inadequate work ; but such a work gains no authority from 
the fact that it is the only available source of information. If 
the reader is compelled to use it, he should first become 
acquainted with its shortcomings, and this is particularly true of 
an inexperienced pupil who may easily be imposed upon by an 
appearance of learning. The only safe method is to make a 
preliminary study of the books which bear on the subject. 
This may take time, but it will also save time by answering 
satisfactorily questions like these : Who gives the best brief 
account of the Crusades? Who explains most clearly mediaeval 
village life ? Where is the story of the slave-trade told ? Where is 
an impartial account of Reconstruction ? The thoroughness of 
the preliminary investigation should depend upon the nature of 
the work undertaken, but even younger pupils should acquire the 
habit of asking for the best references on the topics which are 
assigned to them. The superficial and untrustworthy historical 
work owes its existence to a desire for information coupled 
with the naive credulity which sees no distinction between one 
book and another. 

The bewildering multiplication of books has compelled the 

making of lists of titles of works upon different subjects. These 

lists, or bibliographies, have themselves been so 

,.,.,, ,. ,. , ,. , ., .. , . Guides, 

multiplied that lists of such lists, or bibliographies 

of bibliographies, have appeared. Well-organized libraries are 

provided with the best bibliographical works. Some collections 

are particularly comprehensive. In 1890 the Boston Public 



120 THE SCHOOL AND THE LIBRARY 

Library published such a list under the title A Catalogue of the 
Bibliographies of Special Subjects in the Boston Bub lie Library. 
The University of the State of New York published in Novem- 
ber, 1899, an other entitled Selected Subject Bibliographies, con- 
taining forty-two titles, 1 of historical bibliographies. The Library 
Journal records all new publications of this character. 

If the task undertaken does not call for such care in the 
search for books, a single comprehensive work, including well- 
classified lists, will furnish the information that is required. The 
most useful of these is The Best Books, by William Swan 
Sonnenschein, and A Reader's Guide, by the same editor. 2 
Each of these works contains the titles of about fifty thousand 
volumes, and they have been selected with unusual care. The 
second is intended to supplement the first, bringing the list of 
publications down to 1895, and adding titles omitted in the 
first, but worthy of consideration. In both the editor has char- 
acterized in a line or two many of the books, drawing upon his 
own personal knowledge of them or from the opinions of 
scholars whom he has consulted. 

There are many special lists upon the whole field of history 
and upon parts of it. Charles Kendall Adams' Manual of 
Adams' Historical Literature z has long been of service, 

Manual. Du t its utility is now decreasing, because its date 

precludes the criticism of books published during the last twenty 
years. Moreover, the plan of the Manual implies that only 
works of established reputation should be mentioned. Each 
book is briefly criticised, relieving the student in many cases of 
the need of hunting through reviews for a critical description. 

In Methods of Teaching and Studying History, second 
edition (239-295), there is a fairly comprehensive list, chiefly 



1 Such books as H. Stein's Manuel de Bibliographic generate, Paris, 
1898, or J. Petzholdt's Bibliotheca bibliographica, Leipzig, 1866, illustrate 
how far this work may be carried. See also Langlois, 4 ff., Bernheim, 
Lehrbuch, 196 ff. 

' 2 The second edition, published in 1891, is here referred to. The 
first edition contained only 25,000 titles. 

3 Harper. 1882; 3d ed. with titles only of new books, 



THE SCHOOL AND THE LIBRARY 121 

of works in the English language, with a supplementary list 
(309-321), containing works " chiefly French and German, or 
works published since the earlier list." 1 Both give brief notes 
on the character and value of the books mentioned. In con- 
nection with each, there is a list of books for collateral reading 
in the elementary school. The same volume includes a Select 
Bibliography of Ecclesiastical History ', by John A. Fisher. E. B. 
Andrews' Institutes of General History 11 gives valuable biblio- 
graphical information at the head of each chapter. There are 
useful lists also in Henry Matson's References for Literary 
Workers? 

The student of American history finds the task of searching 
for books greatly facilitated by such a work as Channing and 
Hart's Guide to American History} This in- For American 
eludes a carefully classified bibliography, not only History, 
of books, but also of other bibliographies and indexes. In addi- 
tion it gives a list of general readings arranged topically. The 
second part of the book is devoted to a full topical study of 
American history with abundant references to the literature of 
each topic. The whole is so carefully indexed that all the infor- 
mation it holds is rendered accessible without tedious search. 
A. W. Bacheler's America?i History by the Library Method 5 
furnishes references by topics to about seventy works, perform- 
ing in an elementary way the service rendered by the second 
part of the Guide, although there is no description of the works 
referred to, so that the pupil is not led to consider their relative 
value. Of similar aim is E. E. Sparks' Topical Reference 
Lists in American History, with introductory lists in English 
Constitutional History f and John G. Allen's Topical Studies 



1 Second edition, Heath, 1895. The first edition, Ginn, 1883, con_ 
tains the earlier of the two bibliographies, pp. 10-65. A briefer list by 
Professor Allen was published at the end of his History Topics for High 
Schools and Colleges, Heath, 1888. Fisher's Bibliography was also pub- 
lished separately by Heath in 1885. 

2 Boston, Silver, Burdett & Co. 1887. 

3 Chicago, McClurg. 1892. 4 Boston, Ginn. 1896. 

5 Boston, Lee & Shepard. 1897. 6 Columbus, Smythe. 1893. 



122 THE SCHOOL AND THE LIBRARY 

in American History. x Several of the better text-books place 
at the heads of chapters or in appendices bibliographical notes 
and lists. Similar information is also afforded in the foot-notes 
of more extended works. The richest store of such facts, par- 
ticularly upon the period prior to the adoption of the Constitu- 
tion, is found in Winsor's Narrative and Critical History of 
America. 

For English history as a whole the best bibliography is part 
two of Gardiner and Mullinger's English History for Students? 
English T ne authorities described here are divided into Con- 

Histoiy. temporary, Non-Contemporary, and Modern Writ- 

ers. In the introductory section there are brief statements about 
the principal collections of sources. 

In Lee's Source Book of English History (3-6 1), 3 there is a 
list of Collections of Sources arranged by Epochs. For the 
history of England until 1485 a comprehensive bibliography 
has been prepared by Charles Gross, and is entitled The 
Sources and Literature of 'English History. 41 This contains 3,234 
titles, besides extensive appendices on such bibliographical sub- 
jects as the reports of the Historical Manuscripts Commission, 
a list of the titles of works in the Rolls Series, and Chronological 
Tables of the Principal Sources. 

Among minor lists on English history are W. F. Allen's 
Reader's Guide to English History^ and Mary E. Wilder's 
English History by the Laboratory Method? The latter is a 
book of topics with references, rather than a bibliographical 
work. It does not classify the books which are mentioned. 

The satisfactory study of European history is rendered some- 
what more difficult than the study of either English or Ameri- 
can history by the obstacle of language, for many of the most 
serviceable books are in French, German, or Italian. With 



1 New York, Macmillan, 1899. 2 London, New York, Holt. 

3 New York, Holt. 1900. 

4 London and New York, Longmans. 1900. Dr. Gross is also the 
author of A Bibliography of British Municipal History, Harvard His- 
torical Studies (Longmans), 1897. 

5 Boston, Ginn. 6 Boston, Lee & Shepard. 1897. 



THE SCHOOL AND THE LIBRARY 1 23 

the better facilities now offered by all colleges for the study of 
the modern languages, these books are becoming more access- 
ible to teachers. Many of the best books on an- E ur0 pean 
cient history are translated, and this is to some History. 
extent true of books on other periods of European history. 

For Greek and Roman history there is a short serviceable 
list in J. B. Mayor's Guide to the Choice of Classical Books, 
New Supplement (18 79-1 896), pp. 79-86. 1 A. L. Ancient 
Goodrich's Topics on Greek History 2 contains over History. 
one hundred titles, and W. L. Burdick's Topical Out- 
lines of Roma?i History 2, contains about twenty-five. G. W. 
Botsford's History of Greece^ gives (pp. 363-366) lists for the 
" Smallest," a " Good," and a " Larger " Library, with prices. 
W. C. Morey's History of Rome, 5 pp. 345-353, contains a 
classified list. 

There is no bibliography covering the whole period of French 
history, Monod's Bibliographie de V Histoire de France 6 bringing 
the subject only to 1789. No edition of this has 
appeared since 1888, and therefore it does not in- 
clude many recent important works, but its lists may be sup- 
plemented from those of Lavisse et Rambaud, Histoire ghier ale? 
which are particularly full for French history, and, for the years 
since 18 14, from Seignobos' Political History of Europe since 
1814. 8 For German history, the most convenient work is 
Dahlmann-Waitz, Quellenkimde der Deutschen Geschichte? 
This occasionally adds to the title of the book one or two refer- 
ences to critical articles. The literature of European history 
during the Christian era, so far as it is not included in these 

1 London, Nutt. 1896. a New York, Macmillan. 189S. 

3 Chicago, Scott, Foresman & Co. 1897. 

4 New York, Macmillan. 1899. 

5 New York, Amer. Book Co. 1900. 

6 Paris. There is also Les Sources de T Histoire de France. Par A. 
Franklin. Paris, Firmin-Didot. 1877. 

7 12 vols. Paris, Armand Colin. 1893-1900. 

8 New York, Holt. 1899. 

9 The sixth edition appeared in 1894. Gottingen. Edited by 
Steindorff. 



124 THE SCHOOL AND THE LIBRARY 

special bibliographies, is adequately described in Lavisse and 

Rambaud. 

For mediaeval history, there is a carefully made list of over 

two hundred titles in D. C. Munro's Syllabus of Mediceval 

„..,« » History} There is also a shorter list in M. S. 

Middle Ages. 

Getchell's Study of Mediceval History by the 

Library Method. 2 References chiefly to French and German 

works are given for the period from 1600 to 1890 in H. Morse 

Stephens' Syllabus of a Course of Eighty-seven Lectures on 

Modern European History? The encyclopaedias often furnish 

valuable references. 4 

If bibliographies are not frequently revised, their lists must be 

supplemented by consulting the current historical reviews. The 

„ . English Historical Review, from 1886, when it 

Reviews. ° ' ' 

began publication, until 1900, printed at the close 

of each quarterly number a list of recent books, classified under 
such heads as General, Oriental, Greek and Roman, Mediaeval 
and Modern, French, German, and English history. But even 
without so formal a list, it is possible to find the titles of the 
newer books in the lists of reviews. Since 1895, the American 
Historical Review has contained notices, or reviews, of all note- 
worthy historical publications. The Nation (New York) and 
The Dial (Chicago) have done this work for a less restricted 
audience. The best Continental reviews for the student of 
history are the Revue historique, edited by Gabriel Monod, 
which first appeared in 1876, and the Historische Zeitschrift, 
founded by Heinrich v. Sybel in 1859. 

After the student learns the titles of books, his next care 
should be to obtain an authoritative estimate of their value. 
This he can find by consulting critical articles in the reviews 



1 Revised edition. Philadelphia, University of Pennsylvania. 1900. 

2 Boston, Ginn. 1897. 

3 New York, Macmillan. 1899. 

4 The annual volumes, since 1878, of the Jahresbericht der Geschichts- 
wissenschaft furnish a nearly complete list of all current publications on 
history, in books, magazines, and reports. 



THE SCHOOL AND THE LIBRARY 125 

which are published chiefly to furnish such assistance. It is 
not wise to rely upon the estimates given in the ordinary news- 
paper review or even in many of the more distinctly critical 
literary journals, for they are often hastily and super- Estimates, 
ficially thrown together. In the reviews devoted to history 
will be found the opinion of scholars specially qualified to speak 
on each subject. It is possible, by consulting more than one 
review, to control the judgment of one critic by comparing it 
with that of another. The teacher has not the time to read 
many books and in this way to keep abreast of the progress 
of historical studies, but with a comparatively small expend- 
iture of time he can accomplish practically the same result by 
reading in one or two authoritative reviews the descriptions of 
the new contributions to knowledge. 

The resources of a library are often greatly increased by the 
presence of sets of magazines and reviews which may contain 
historical material. It is not unusual for works of History in 
serious importance to be first published in maga- Magazines, 
zines. Familiar illustrations of this fact are the Life of Lincoln 
by Nicolay and Hay, Sloane's Life of Napoleon, Wheeler's Life 
of Alexander, and John Morley's Life of Cromwell. The same 
is true of English and European magazines. Fortunately the 
indexes that are now published make all this material easily 
accessible to both teacher and pupil. If the pupils do no other 
work of a bibliographical sort, they should be taught how to use 
Poole's Index} the Annual Literary Index} or the Cumulative 
Index? These cover the English as well as the American field 
of periodical literature. Until recently no similar publications 
facilitated the use of German or French magazines, although 
sometimes the magazine itself furnished at an interval of years 
an index to its own contents during the period. There appeared 
in 1897 the first volume of the Bibliographie der Deutsche?i 
Zeitschrif ten-Litter atur, including the titles of articles published 
the previous year. In France in 1898 a similar work was begun 

1 Boston, Houghton. 2 New York, Publishers' Weekly. 

3 Cleveland, Cumulative Index Co. 



126 THE SCHOOL AND THE LIBRARY 

with the title Repertoire bibliographique des principals Revues 
francaises. 

It is often desirable to interest the pupils in the more suc- 
cessful attempts to treat an historical subject in the form of the 
Historical story. To aid in such work, there is a guide enti- 
Fiction. fed tj u Comprehensive Subject Index to Univer- 

sal Prose Fiction? by Zella A. Dixson, and a shorter list by W. F. 
Allen in Hall's Methods, pp. 293-302. Quite as helpful would 
be a similar index for poetry, since contemporary poetry has 
often the value of an original source, and later poetical treat- 
ments are usually more serious attempts at truthful interpretation 
than the historical novel. 

With the rapid increase in local libraries, it is becoming more 
generally possible for teachers to give their pupils adequate 
Function of instruction in the search for and the proper use of 
Libraries. books. The librarians also have come to look upon 
themselves as a part of the great educational forces of the com- 
munity and are ready to co-operate with the teachers. The 
Committee of the National Educational Association has urged 
that the librarians talk with the pupils upon matters pertaining 
to their reading, that they issue bulletins upon subjects con- 
nected with the current work of the classes, and grant the 
pupils free access to the shelves. 2 

It has become the practice in several States, notably in New 
York and Wisconsin, to send travelling libraries to schools and 
Travelling t0 communities which are without them. In New 
Libraries. York, Regent schools or any responsible organiza- 
tions may have the use of a collection including from twenty-five 
to one hundred volumes, during the academic year. The col- 
lections of one hundred books contain from sixteen to thirty 
volumes on biography and history together. It is the policy of 
the State Library to encourage communities to provide for their 
own wants as soon as possible. Indeed, it is strange that per- 
sons who are willing to be taxed to build suitable buildings are 
slow to see the equally pressing need of making the best use of 

1 New York, Dodd. 1897. 2 Report of the Committee, 8. 1899. 



THE SCHOOL AND THE LIBRARY 127 

such a building by equipping it with the proper apparatus, of 
which books form as important a part as the appliances of physics 
or of chemistry. 

If the teacher has the opportunity to select books for the 
school or town library, the work should be done with care, for 
such books are likely long to remain on the shelves, Guides for 
sometimes crowding out altogether better books Purchasers, 
which in the first instance might as easily have been placed there. 
In order to aid the teacher in such work, Channing and Hart's 
Guide gives lists on American history for libraries of different 
sizes. Another list is given by Professor Channing in his 
Students History of the United States. For English history, 
a list is furnished in Coman and Kendall's History of Engla?id. 

The following list includes books from every field of history. 
In making such a list, several things about each book have been 
taken into consideration : its qualities as a piece of historical 
work, its size, its price, its usefulness to both teacher and pupil 
as a source of information supplementary to the text-book, and 
the opinions in regard to its availability held by persons who 
have attempted to prepare similar lists. This list may be 
supplemented from the bibliographies that appear at the head 
of chapters twelve and following. If only a few books can be 
purchased, special attention is called to the importance of works 
marked by a g. 

General. 

% G. B. Adams. European History. New York and London, Mac- 
millan. 

G. Droysen. Allgemeiner historischer Handatlas. Or, SPutzger, 
Historischer Schul-Atlas. Or B. H. Labberton, Historical Atlas. Bos- 
ton, Silver, Burdett & Co. 

E. A. Freeman. General Sketch of European History. London, 
Macmillan. New York, Holt. 

H. B. George. Genealogical Tables. New York and London. Oxford 
University Press. 

H. de B. Gibbins. History of Commerce in Europe. New York 
and London, Macmillan. 

E. Lavisse. Political History of Europe. New York and London, 
Longmans. 



128 THE SCHOOL AND THE LIBRARY 

# Russell Sturgis. European Architecture. New York and London, 
Macmillan. 

% Woodrow Wilson. The State. Boston, Heath. 

Ancient History. 

A. J. Church. Stories of the East, from Herodotus. London, 
Seeley. 

t W. Cunningham. Western Civilization in its Economic Aspects. 
Cambridge University Press. New York, Macmillan. 

G. Maspero. Life in Ancient Egypt and Assyria. London, Chapman 
& Hall. New York, Appleton. 

Greece : — 

#Gh W. Botsford. History of Greece. New York and London, Mac- 
millan. 

#W. W. Fowler. City State of the Greeks and Romans. London 
and New York, Macmillan. 

A. Holm. History of Greece. 4 vols. London and New York, 
Macmillan. 

J. P. Mahaffy. Survey of Greek Civilization. New York, Macmillan. 
Legends and Literature : — 

#G. W. Cox. Tales of Ancient Greece. London, Kegan Paul. 

A. Lang, W. Leaf, B. Myers. The Iliad of Homer. London and 
New York, Macmillan. 

G. H. Palmer. The Odyssey. Boston, Houghton. 

Plutarch. Many editions at various prices. 

Thucydides, translated by B. Jowett. London and New York, Oxford 
University Press. 

Atlas : — 

H. Kiepert. Atlas Antiquus. Sanborn. 
Rome : — 

(J. B. Bury. Student's Roman Empire. London, John Murray. 
New York, American Book Co. 

W. W. Fowler. Julius Caesar. (Heroes of Nations.) London and 
New York, Putnam. 

% W. W. How and H. D. Leigh. History of Rome to the Death of 
Caesar. London and New York, Longmans. 

J. L. Strachan-Davidson. Cicero. (Heroes of Nations.) London 
and New York, Putnam. 

A. Tighe. The Roman Constitution. (History Primer Series.) New 
York, American Book Co. 

Medieval (General). 

#G. B. Adams. Civilization during the Middle Ages. New York, 
Scribner. London, D. Nutt. 



THE SCHOOL AND THE LIBRARY 129 

C. B. Beazley. Prince Henry the Navigator [for review of mediaeval 
ideas of geography]. (Heroes of Nations.) London and New York, 
Putnam. 

% James Bryce. The Holy Roman Empire. London and New York, 

Macmillan. 

E. Emerton. Mediaeval Europe (800-1300). Boston, Ginn. 

G. P. Fisher. History of the Christian Church. New York, Scribner. 
London, Hodder & Stoughton. 

T. Hodgkin. The Dynasty of Theodosius. London and New York, 
Oxford University Press. 

T. Hodgkin. Theodoric. (Heroes of Nations.) New York and Lon- 
don, Putnam. 

J. C. Morison. St. Bernard. London, Macmillan. 

A. Sabatier. Life of St. Francis. 

Sources : — 
Chronicles of the Crusades. London, Bell. New York, Macmillan. 
Eginhard. Life of Charlemagne. New York, American Book Co. 
English Mediaeval Institutions. Penn. Tr. & Rp. 
Guernsey Jones. Civilization during the Middle Ages. Chicago, 
A ins worth. 

Tales : — 
Thomas Bulfinch. Age of Chivalry. Boston, Lee & Shepard. 
H. W. Mabie. Norse Stories. New York, Dodd. 



Modern (General). 

A. H. Johnson. Europe in the Sixteenth Century. London, Riving- 
ton. New York, Macmillan. 

P. Seebohm. The Protestant Revolution. London and New York, 
Longmans. 

S. K, Gardiner. The Thirty Years War. London and New York, 
Longmans. 

A. T. Mahan. The Influence of the Sea Power upon History- 
Boston, Little, Brown & Co. London, S. Low. 

8 J. H. Hose. The Revolutionary and Napoleonic Era. London, 
Cambridge University Press. New York, Macmillan. 

#C. Seignobos. Political History of Europe since 1814. New York, 
Holt. 

European Expansion (see also under England) : — 
5C. P. Lucas. Introduction to the Historical Geography of the 
British Colonies (includes other than English enterprises, ancient and 
modern). London and New York. Oxford University Press. 

E. J. Payne. European Colonies (brings the subject only to 1S77). 
New York, Macmillan. 

9 



130 THE SCHOOL AND THE LIBRARY 

Mediaeval and Modern. 
England: — 
Sources : — 
C. W. Colby. Selections from the Sources of English History. 
London and New York, Longmans. 

#E. K. Kendall. Source Book of English History. London and 
New York, Macmillan. 

General Histories : — 

S. It. Gardiner. Student's History of England. London and New 
York, Longmans. 

% J. K. Green. Short History of the English People. 1 London, Mac- 
millan. New York, American Book Co. 

T. W. Higginson and Edward Channing. English History for 
Americans. New York and London, Longmans. 

Special Periods : — 

E. A. Freeman. Short History of the Norman Conquest. London 
and New York, Oxford University Press. 

W. Stubbs. The Early Plantagenets. London and New York, 
Longmans. 

M. Creighton. Simon de Montfort. London and New York, 
Longmans. 

M. Creighton. Age of Elizabeth. London and New York, 
Longmans. 

% S. R. Gardiner. The Puritan Revolution. London and New York, 
Longmans. 

Justin McCarthy. The Epoch of Reform (1830-1850). London and 
New York, Longmans. 

Social and Industrial : — 

W. J. Ashley. Economic History. (For mature students.) London, 
Longmans. New York, Putnam. 

tW. Cunningham and E. A. McArthur. Outlines of English Indus- 
trial History : Elementary. London, Cambridge University Press. New 
York, Macmillan. 

Constitution : — 

"Walter Bagehot. The English Constitution. London, Kegan Paul. 
New York, Appleton. 

H. St. C. Peilden. Constitutional History. London, Simpkins. 
Boston, Ginn. Brief but exceedingly useful compendium. 

t Jesse Macy. The English Constitution. New York and London, 
Macmillan. 



1 There is a more expensive edition, illustrated, in 4 volumes. The 
illustrations in Gardiner are equally instructive so far as they go. 



THE SCHOOL AND THE LIBRARY 131 

Colonies {see also wider European Expansion) : — 

H. Egerton. Short History of British Colonial Policy. London, 
Methuen. New York, New Amsterdam Book Co. 

(J. B. Seeley. The Expansion of England. London and New York, 
Macmillan. 

J. G. Bourinot. Canada. London and New York, Putnam. 

W. W. Hunter. Short History of the Indian Peoples. London and 
New York, Oxford University Press. 

Edward Jenks. The Australasian Colonies. London, Cambridge 
University Press. New York, Macmillan. 
Alias : — 

fiS. R. Gardiner. School Atlas of English History. London and 
New York, Longmans. 
France : — 

% G. B. Adams. Growth of the French Nation. London and New 
York, Macmillan. 

G. W. Kitchin. The History of France. 3 vols. London and New 
York, Oxford University Press. 

J. B. Perkins. Richelieu. (Heroes of Nations.) London and New 
York, Putnam. 

S E. J. Lowell. Eve of the French Revolution. Boston, Houghton. 

Thomas Carlyle. The French Revolution. 2 vols. London, Chap- 
man & Hall. Various editions. 

% Mrs. S. R. Gardiner. The French Revolution. London and New 
York, Longmans. 
Germany {see titles under Mediceval and Modern History) : — 

If J. Kostlin. Life of Luther. London -and New York, Longmans. 

Herbert Tuttle. History of Prussia. 4 vols. Boston, Houghton. 

W. Muller. Political History of Recent Times. Particularly full on 
German History. New York, American Book Co. 
Italy: — 

% J. A. Symonds. A Short History of the Renaissance. Drawn from 
Symonds's larger work by Alfred Pearson. London, Smith, Elder. New 
York, Holt. 

J. W. Probyn. Italy, 181 5-1890. London and New York, Cassell. 

Spain : ■ — 

U. R. Burke. History of Spain. 2 vols., 2d ed. London and New 
York, Longmans. 

M. A. S. Hume. Philip II. London and New York, Macmillan. 

American History. 
Atlases : — 
A. B. Hart. Epoch Maps illustrating American History. New 
York and London, Longmans. 



132 THE SCHOOL AND THE LIBRARY 

Sources : — 

A. B. Hart. American History told by Contemporaries. 1 4 vols. 
New York and London, Macmillan. 

Mabel Hill. Liberty Documents with Contemporary Exposition and 
Critical Comments drawn from various writers. New York and London, 
Longmans. 

Old South Leaflets. Boston, Old South Leaflet Co. 

H. W. Preston. Documents illustrative of American History. New 
York and London, Putnam. 

General: — 

T. W. Higginson. Larger History of the United States. New 
York, Harper. London, S. Low. 

T. W. Higginson. Young Folks' History of the United States. 
New York and London, Longmans. 

% Goldwin Smith. The United States, an Outline of Political History. 
London and New York, Macmillan. 

% Edward Charming. The United States of America, 1765-1865. 
London and New York, Macmillan. 

Colonial : — 
#B. G-. Thwaites. The Colonies. New York and London, Longmans. 
H. C. Lodge. The English Colonies in America. New York. Harper. 
"W. B. Weeden. Economic History of New England. 2 vols. Boston, 
Houghton. 

# John Fiske. The Discovery of America. 2 vols. Boston, Houghton. 
London, Macmillan. 

Francis Parkman. The Pioneers of France in the New World. 
Boston, Little, Brown & Co. London, Macmillan. 

% Francis Parkman. Montcalm and Wolfe. 2 vols. Boston, Little, 
Brown & Co. London, Macmillan. 

Barrett Wendell. Cotton Mather. New York, Dodd. 

Revolutionary : — 

* B. Franklin. Autobiography. Bigelow ed. Philadelphia, Lippincott. 
H. C. Lodge. Washington. 2 vols. Boston, Houghton. 

S John Fiske. The American Revolution. 2 vols. Boston, Houghton. 
London, Macmillan. 

W. G. Sumner. Robert Morris. New York, Dodd. 

National : — 
Alexander Johnston. American Politics. New York, Holt. 
F. W. Taussig. History of the Tariff. New York and London, 
Putnam. 

Edward Stanwood. History of the Presidency. Boston, Houghton. 



1 % Hart's Source Book (Macmillan) covers the same ground briefly 
in a more elementary way. 



THE SCHOOL AND THE LIBRARY 133 

Woodrow "Wilson. Division and Reunion (1829-1889). New York 
and London, Longmans. 

Jesse Maey. History of American Political Parties. New York 
and London, Macmillan. 

SCarlSchurz. Henry Clay. 2 vols. (American Statesmen Series.) 
Boston, Houghton. 

W. G. Sumner. Andrew Jackson. (American Statesmen Series.) 
Boston, Houghton. 

H. von Hoist. J. C. Calhoun. (American Statesmen Series.) Bos- 
ton, Houghton. 

8 J. T. Morse. Abraham Lincoln. 2 vols. (American Statesmen 
Series.) Boston, Houghton. 

Government : — 

ft James Bryce. The American Commonwealth. London and New 
York, Macmillan. 

John Fiske. Civil Government in the United States. Boston, 
Houghton. London, Macmillan. 

J. K. Landon. The Constitutional History and Government of the 
United States. Boston, Houghton. 



CHAPTER IX 

THE FACTS OF MOST WOETH 

BIBLIOGRAPHY. 

Hinsdale, B. A. Pages 67—137 in How to Teach and Study History. 
New York, Appleton. 

Mace, W. H. Pages 1-76 in Method in History. Boston, Ginn. 

Teachers are often urged to drill their pupils on the facts, as 
if these were stiff, mechanical .things, easily to be distinguished 
What is a fr° m tnen " causes or consequences, in other words, 
Fact? f rom t h e meanings which this or that writer de- 

clares he has found in them. Facts are a curious compound, 
made up of relations that are very simple, like an incident 
and the time and place of its occurrence, and of more subtle 
relations through which the incident becomes a part of some 
great tendency in human affairs, or marks a stage in the de- 
velopment of an institution, or even points to a crisis in the 
structure of society itself. It is a fact that a battle was fought 
at Lexington, Massachusetts, April 19, 1775. The date and 
the place are simple relations which show that the incidents 
occurred at a particular time and in a particular locality during 
the troubles at Boston. It is also a fact that this fight was the 
beginning of the Revolutionary War ; that it was one of the first 
acts of resistance to arbitrary rule which was to open a whole 
period of revolution, not only on this continent but also in 
Europe ; a period that was not to end until North and South 
America were controlled by independent republics and the old 
colonial system had been hopelessly destroyed. These relations 
are less obvious, but they are quite as truly part of the reality of 
the battle as are the time, the place, and the separate incidents. 



THE FACTS OF MOST WORTH 135 

If the teacher emphasizes only the simpler relations, his 
work resembles that of the annalist. In dealing with young 
pupils he must, of course, be content with this. And yet only 
when he is able to interpret an event as part of a process of 
development, whether of an institution or of national life, or 
of the structure of society, is he leading his pupils into the 
historical attitude of mind, and teaching them history. 

For these reasons it is apparent that it is one of the teacher's 
most serious tasks not merely to select those incidents which 
are instructive, but also to bring out those relations selection of 
of each incident which give to it its deeper sig- Facts - 
nificance. 1 This selection is governed by the maturity of the 
pupil and by the nature of the relations themselves. It will 
be advisable to discuss here only the considerations which 
arise from the nature of the relations, leaving to the description 
of the different parts of the course of study the question of 
adapting the selection to the capacity of the pupils. 

These relations will be treated somewhat in the order of 
their complexity. As already remarked, the simplest are those 
of time and place, that is, of chronology and geography. 

The selection of dates which pupils are to remember is made 
needlessly difficult by many text-book writers, who sprinkle 
their pages with dates, possibly because of a futile love of ex- 
actness. What is the teacher to do, confronted by such a 



1 Professor Mace says : " There are few teachers who have not felt 
the pressing need of selecting from the vast amount of matter to be 
found in text-books and libraries that particular portion having the 
highest historical significance. The small amount of time devoted to 
history, compared with the vast extent of the field, makes the question 
of selection and emphasis a really 'practical' question." Method, 65. 
As was remarked in another place, Spencer's principal objection to 
history as commonly taught was that the facts were unorganized and 
therefore without value. Dr. Hinsdale remarks : " Too much stress 
cannot be placed on organization as essential to real knowledge. But, 
further, it is as necessary to its retention as to its acquirement. . . . 
Individual events compose a series of events ; but to understand events 
singly, it is as necessary to have a knowledge of the series as it is to 
have a knowledge of the individual facts in order to understand the 
series." P. 69. 



136 THE FACTS OF MOST WORTH 

passage as this : "The struggle was continued in 523 and 524 
with little success. But in 532 the war was begun again, and 
ended in 534 with the extinction of the Burgundian 
kingdom " ? This may be an extreme case, but 
it reveals an evil more obscurely prevalent in many text-books. 
Fortunately it is becoming the custom of text-book makers to 
accompany the narrative with a list of dates which the pupils 
are to commit to memory. 

It is the main purpose of a date to keep an event in position 
while it is being examined and its relations are being discovered. 
Value of The performance of such a function is exceedingly 

Dates. useful even to the more mature student. If the 

same thing happens over a wide field, a presumption is created 
that there is some general movement in progress, and the 
student is stimulated to further inquiry. The rise of the towns 
in France is an example of this. Furthermore, if one compares 
the development of French and English institutions, one dis- 
covers something in the history of each which gives significance 
to the history of the other. The development of Parliament 
and the fortunes of the States General illustrate this. Similarly 
instructive coincidences show events of another sort to be char- 
acteristic of a period, rather than isolated acts. Protestant 
writers might have wasted less energy in denouncing Louis XIV. 
for the decree of 1681, permitting Huguenot children to 
renounce the religion of their parents, had these writers re- 
membered the petition of the House of Commons in 1621, 
"That the children of popish recusants or such whose wives 
are popish recusants be brought up . . . with protestant school- 
masters and teachers, who may sow in their tender years the 
seeds of true religion." * 

In many cases as soon as the real nature of an event is 
understood its date ceases to be of importance. The incident 
has been so tied into the whole by the chain of its causes and 
its consequences that it can no longer be wrenched out of 



Prothero, Statutes and Constitutional Documents, 309. 



THE FACTS OF MOST WORTH 1 37 

position. Children rarely reach this stage in the study of any 
but the most familiar portions of their own national history. 
They are not likely to put the Civil War before the Declaration 
of Independence, but they often fall into the error of a few 
centuries in trying to remember almost equally important inci- 
dents in the history of Europe. Some dates must consequently 
be associated with occurrences so that the whole body of 
knowledge may not collapse and become a confused mass of 
meaningless names and patches of incidents. 

Dates that are famous should be remembered because they 
are famous. The Frenchman has as much reason to be 
shocked at ignorance of the meaning of July 14 as Dates to be 
we of July 4. In choosing other dates those remembered, 
should be selected which mark the most significant event in 
some movement, and in relation to which the other events 
naturally fall into line as either before or after. For example, 
most of the incidents of the early Germanic invasions may be 
grouped about Alaric's capture of Rome in 410. 1 Later in the 
history of Europe, when the modern peoples begin to appear 
and their development becomes more individual, it is well to 
keep the several chronological series interwoven, not leaving 
this to the result of chance references. There are periods, like 
that of the Hundred Years War or the Napoleonic era, when it 
is unnecessary so far as France and England are concerned, 
because a hard fate bound the two peoples together in a struggle 
ever memorable. 

Geography brings out other relations of nearly every historical 

incident, some of them as simple as its chronology, others more 

complex. Geography has sometimes been called 
, r , • -r • • -^ , , Geography. 

the two eyes of history. It is significant that these 

subjects are grouped together in the German programmes. 

Many parts of geography could be better comprehended if they 

were explained in connection with those historical events to 



1 It is welJ also to make a distinction between dates which should be 
remembered until the work of a single exercise is completed and those 
which should never be forgotten. 



138 THE FACTS OF MOST WORTH 

which they have given rise. The converse of this is true : 
history should be brought down to earth and kept there. 

It is not enough to require the pupils to locate the position 
of events on the map, nor is this always instructive, for the map 
Historical i s itself subject to change, and often a modern map 
Names. would seriously mislead any one who was studying 

incidents that took place a hundred years ago. Political names 
come and go ; even the configuration of the land is modified by 
time. Italy, which we now use as the name of one of the great 
states of Europe, not long ago was, as Metternich declared, 
merely " a geographical expression." But misunderstanding is 
less likely to arise in the use of this name than in one like 
France. 1 The pupil who carries into the study of mediaeval 
France his notion of modern France will be confused at every 
turn. He may fortunately discover that feudal France did not 
cover more than two-thirds the territory included in the modern 
state. The confusion does not end here, for not until compara- 
tively late was the name France applied even to the group of 
fiefs which were held by the French king. France was merely 
the royal domain, based on the old duchy of France which the 
first Capetian had held before he was crowned. In this case 
there are three uses of the name, only one of which is strictly 
historical, one of the others being a modern territorial name and 
the third a convenient designation for the lands over which the 
king was suzerain. As the king incorporated the fiefs of his 
vassals in the domain, the historical name grew more compre- 
hensive, until it became identical with what for convenience is 
called feudal France. That, too, after centuries of struggle 
became practically the same territory that we now mean by 
France. The name Louisiana in American history illustrates 
the same point. 

For these reasons it is necessary for the pupil to study his- 
torical maps even if he is to do no more than properly to locate 
events. Historical geography may also serve a higher purpose 
than this : it affords the opportunity to study many of the more 

1 Freeman, Historical Geography of Europe, 125, 147. 



THE FACTS OF MOST WORTH 1 39 

complex relations of an event, it unfolds before the eye the 
growth of states and nations from period to period, and in 
doing this reveals the causes or the results of many Historical 
a desperate struggle. Without its details the his- Geography. 
tory of Europe, and, to a less degree, the history of America 
also, is unintelligible. Much of it is too complex for any but 
the college student, and yet some of its more salient facts are 
within the grasp of even comparatively young pupils. If these 
are judiciously put forward, the pupil must become in conse- 
quence more deeply interested in geography, leaving out of 
account the results in his comprehension of history. For 
example, it is easy to bound France in every other direction 
save on the north and east. Here on both sides of the Rhine 
conflicts have raged for nearly two thousand years, and yet the 
Europeans who have dwelt on the east and those who have dwelt 
on the west have not succeeded in drawing a permanent frontier 
line. Augustus tried to push the borders of the empire into 
Germany and lost his legions in the Teutoburg forest ; Louis 
XIV. reached the Rhine by the seizure of Alsace ; Napoleon 
boldly crossed it and included in his empire all the western 
share, only to be driven back humiliated ; and in 1870 the 
Third Napoleon lost even the hold the Bourbons had won. 

Historical events have been deeply affected by geographical 
facts. In the case of the northeastern frontier of France it 
has been the lack of a natural frontier that has Effects of 
caused nearly all the strife. The French reached situation - 
the Alps and the Pyrenees almost without fighting. The ocean 
compelled the successors of Henry Plantagenet to retreat from 
his magnificent domain in western France. Indeed the English 
Channel has been the dominant fact in the history of England. 
Though it may have loosened the hold of its kings upon their 
Continental lands, it protected England in later centuries from 
feeling the strain of many a European conflict, so that she 
could concentrate her energies in a way permitted to no other 
kingdom upon the achievement of sea power. Holland was as 
strong as England in the seventeenth century, but Holland was 



I4-0 THE FACTS OF MOST WORTH 

overrun by Louis XIV., and in the next century by the Revo- 
lutionary armies. Their position on the southwest peninsula of 
Europe gave Spain and Portugal the burden and the glory of 
the discoveries. 

Climate as well as situation have counted for much in the 
history of peoples. It is the man of the temperate zone who 

holds the earth within his grasp, and who is exploit- 
Climate. .■■.-.. , , M 1 1 • 

ing it for his own advantage, while the less vigorous 
natives of the tropics struggle vainly to retain a barbarous and 
lazy freedom. It is the fact of climate that has rendered the 
assimilation of tropical lands by great self-governing peoples an 
impossibility. These are a few examples of the many ways in 
which the destiny of men has been affected by the geographical 
conditions which surround them. 

In what has been said about historical geography two kinds 
of maps have been referred to, — one the contemporary map of 
Contempo- tne land, the other the historical map, which shows 
rary Maps. the extent of that land at the particular period for 
the moment under review. There is a third map which should 
also be used, although its use is restricted to times of discovery, 
exploration, and conquest. This map is based on the knowl- 
edge the people of the period had of the places they were seek- 
ing to reach. The voyage of Columbus becomes intelligible 
only after a glance at Toscanelli's map or Behaim's globe. The 
early history of America can be better understood if the student 
examines maps which embody the explorer's ideas of the size 
and shape of the lands that lay behind the frontier settlements. 

When a fact is dated or located, little has been done to de- 
scribe or characterize it, but if it be grouped with others in a 
Meaning of period like the Age of Pericles, the Renaissance, 
Periods. faQ Revolutionary Era, its significance is made more 

apparent. Any period owes its name and its limits to the pe- 
culiar significance of its events. The effort to divide history 
into periods is therefore a natural consequence of a thoughtful 
study of it. American history used to be little more than the 
four national and the three or four colonial wars. Such history 



THE FACTS OF MOST WORTH 141 

was hardly better than none. It was an immense gain when 
men began to analyze the development of America and to devise 
terms which would adequately describe or suggest its different 
stages. 

The effort to divide history into periods is not free from cer- 
tain dangers. It encourages the idea that great processes have 
a sudden beginning and come to an end with equal 
suddenness. It has led to such common-place 
errors as that the Renaissance began in 1453 and was caused 
by the fall of Constantinople. Even our calendar distorts cer- 
tain parts of the past. The unity in the development of the 
Roman power has been broken by it, and the illusion is created 
that the reign of Augustus, when all the world was at peace, is 
the goal and fitting conclusion of the story of ancient life. 
Until recently the history of the Empire was altogether neglected 
in the schools. This was also partly because ancient history 
was regarded as supplementary to the study of the Greek and 
Roman writers. 

The name of a period is sometimes a criticism. After one is 
accustomed to think of the years from the downfall of Charle- 
magne's empire to the twelfth century as the Dark Ages, or to 
extend this term so as to cover the whole mediaeval period, 
there is a subtle prejudice against everything that occurs during 
that time. Many persons feel the need of no more definite 
knowledge in regard to it. They spread over it the mantle of 
their contempt and are satisfied. And yet hidden away in this 
period were the beginnings of modern states, the development 
of great institutions like the papacy ; here the modern tongues 
first became articulate, and the first work was done on the new 
literatures. Here also the foundations were laid of nearly every- 
thing of which the succeeding centuries may boast themselves. 

The name of a period may also lead to a one-sided treatment 
of the events. There is some danger that the term Reforma- 
tion may cause many things between 15 17 and 1598 Limitation of 
to be forgotten because they do not seem to throw Periods, 
any light on the reform movement. The Renaissance is also 



142 THE FACTS OF MOST WORTH 

likely to be treated as if it were simply an introduction to the 
Reformation. Moreover, there is a measure of partisan argu- 
ment in the term itself as it is generally employed. It is a 
Protestant system of grouping. The other party might prefer 
to call it the period of the Protestant Revolution or even of the 
Protestant schism. 

If the division into periods be unhappily made, it leads to 
serious misconception. It has already been explained that the 
Misconcep- idea of the Fourth Monarchy blinded the media- 
tions. va i wr iters to the profound differences between the 
Middle Ages and the days of the earlier Roman Empire. Men 
create for themselves in this way a medium of a high refracting 
power through which they study affairs, until a sudden change 
sweeps away the obstacle, and they are astonished at the sort of 
world they have been ignorantly gazing at all the while. The 
Jacobins of the French Revolution felt the truth of this, and 
sought to take advantage of it. They hated the past, and, to 
weaken its hold upon the minds of the people, they attempted 
to substitute for the old calendar and its holy days a new calen- 
dar, all the associations of which should be with the Revolution 
and with the world of nature. 

The shortest periods into which history is usually divided are 
the administration, the reign, or the ministry. Such divisions 
are simply for the sake of convenience. It is rare 
Brie eno s. t ^ at t ^ e beginning of a reign or of an administration 
forms a real epoch in human experience. In the case of a 
Charlemagne, a Cromwell, or a Napoleon, this may be true, but 
even in such cases the events which gave these men their 
matchless opportunities had their beginnings years before the 
men came forward. 

If these considerations be sound, it must be concluded that 
the division of history into periods is simply a convenient means 
Principles of of setting facts more clearly in relation to the 
Division. events which best explain them. The result should 
not be a rigid mould into which facts of all sorts should be 
thrust. One scheme of periods may be rejected for another if 



THE FACTS OF MOST WORTH 1 43 

by so doing a particular aspect of affairs is brought into more 
striking relief. In studying American industrial history one 
would not use the same periodization which would facilitate the 
understanding of our political development, although industrial 
conditions and politics constantly affect one another, and should 
not be treated as if they belonged to wholly different worlds. 

There is another set of relations which events possess, not 
altogether distinct from those which have just been analyzed, 
but often of a more special character, belonging to the growth 
of an institution or to a change in the position of some social 
class. 

Frequently events have a local and temporary cause or mean- 
ing and at the same time, probably without the chief actors ever 
suspecting it, belong to a process which is gradually Growth of 
bringing about a radical transformation of things. Institutions. 
Sometimes it seems that institutions have a sort of distinctive 
life and impulse, and that men are moved hither and thither like 
puppets in the show. The growth of the old French monarchy 
illustrates this. There is a regularity and a symmetry about its 
development which makes a high appeal to the scientific spirit 
in historical thinking. The beginnings of feudalism offer an- 
other instance. When the Carolingian monarchs began to make 
grants of immunity from the jurisdiction of their own officers, 
they were not aware that they were pushing forward the reor- 
ganization of western Europe on the basis of local sovereignty. 
Each act of theirs doubtless had its local and temporary excuse, 
but combined with others of the same sort, brought about a 
radical change in the structure of political society. 

It is also illustrated again and again in the history of the 
English Parliament. The provision in Magna Charta that the 
" greater barons" shall receive a personal summons m English 
to the council, while the "lesser barons" shall History- 
be summoned through the sheriff, seemingly a provision sug- 
gested by convenience and of little consequence, in reality 
indicates the line of cleavage between the first and the second 
which was in the fourteenth century to separate them more 



144 THE FACTS OF MOST WORTH 

distinctly leaving the greater barons in the House of Lords 
and the lesser barons in the House of Commons, and which 
was also to prevent the growth of an estate of nobility 
like that in France. The fact that George I. could not talk 
English, and so did not choose to preside over the Cabinet, 
is from one point of view an amusing bit of gossip, from 
another an important fact in the development of the prime 
minister's present function. 

In American history the earlier writers did not give sufficient 
attention to the beginnings of party machinery, because they 
In American did not understand that all these facts taken to- 
History. gether revealed the growth of a customary govern- 

ment or constitution which in its practical effects radically 
modified the written constitution. 

There is a possibility of misconception in the very notion of 

development. It is natural for Americans to assume the ultimate 

triumph of democracy as the goal toward which all 
The Goal. ....... . 

political institutions are turning, and to determine 

the maturity of a particular system by its apparent distance 
from this goal. Such an assumption is too complacent. The 
men of Bismarck's faith also make assumptions, and with equal 
right. Until some law of institutional development is discov- 
ered, the teacher must be content to trace the path by which any 
nation's present has been reached, and to avoid generalizing 
one people's experience into a rule of universal application. 1 



1 Professor Mace would give much greater emphasis to the growth of 
institutions as the fundamental fact of history about which all other 
facts should be grouped or which should serve as the principle of organ- 
ization in the attempt to present the facts. The teacher, he says, needs 
a standard by which he may determine the relative value of facts. He 
continues : " This standard must not be an accidental one . . . but must 
be one derived from the very essence of history itself, from the relations 
that exist between its facts and its organizing principle. Since the 
events of history express the growth of institutional life in different 
degrees, it must follow that they have historical value in proportion to 
their content. We may safely set up the growth of institutional life as 
the standard for making this test of historical value. To state the 
principle somewhat more formally, it may be said that that event, 



THE FACTS OF MOST WORTH 1 45 

Akin to the development of institutions is the transformation 
of industrial life. The facts that belong to this aspect of affairs 
should not be less interesting than war and politics, industrial 
for they occupy man's attention even more con- Development 
stantly. An attack has been made upon the " drum and 
trumpet " method of teaching history, with the result that the 
text-books insert a fuller account of the economic life of nations. 
Some would even go so far as to make industrial development 
the theme about which historical details should be organized. 
According to them, the story of wars, of the rise and fall of 
dynasties, should be treated only in so far as these illustrate the 
growth of the people's activities. The question at once presses 
for answer, Can as much human interest be put into such his- 
torical treatment as is characteristic of the older method ? The 
details of the change from domestic industry to the factory 
system will set only a rare imagination aglow. Pupils can be 
convinced of its importance, but they will not become excited 
over it. Were these changes bound up in the career of a 
Cromwell or a Napoleon, they would shine by a reflected light. 
Nevertheless, it is desirable that some attempt should be made 
to reorganize historical facts in accordance with this aspect of 
events, although it is possible that a less industrial age may 
regard with disdain the supreme importance which this gener- 
ation attaches to economic facts, and may ask if the historical 
process has no deeper central purpose than the organization of 
gainful industry and the exploitation of the earth's natural 
resources. 

Even if our school histories are not to be rewritten from the 



series, or period has the highest historical value which reveals most fully 
the people's institutional thought or feeling. Such a fact takes highest 
rank." Pp. 67-68. Dr. Hinsdale agrees, in general, with this position, 
but adds the warning "that the logical element in history must not be 
suffered to override the fact element. . . . Some one observes that ' a 
child has a healthy appetite for facts ; he likes action and story ; ' the 
child should therefore be suitably served with facts, action, and story 
while he craves them, postponing theorizing until the time comes for 
theories." Pp. 73-74. 

10 



146 THE FACTS OF MOST WORTH 

economic point of view, they must henceforth not ignore the 
economic interpretation of historical facts. Many a time a 
Economic in- simple achievement in the development of industry 
terpretation. nas shaken the world with revolutions mightier even 
than the deeds of a Cromwell or a Napoleon. The cotton gin 
fastened slavery on the South and made the Civil War inevitable. 
The spinning-jenny and the power loom and the locomotive 
transformed the conditions of modern life, created great cities, in 
England made the democratic reorganization of the government 
a necessity, and in America filled with a strong national spirit 
the expanding North, which moved freely east and west across 
State frontiers. Furthermore, who shall name a conqueror 
greater than the unknown reformers of mediaeval agriculture, 
who taught " two blades of grass to grow where one grew 
before"? 

In selecting his facts or in putting the emphasis on this or 
that aspect of them, the teacher should never allow a precon- 
ceived notion of what history is to close his eyes to the inex- 
haustible variety of historical phenomena and dull the curiosity 
which should lead him to explore in every direction. 

Furthermore, in all these attempts at the organization of 
details, the chronological order should be treated as a sort of 
clearing-house where the different sorts of fact may settle up 
their claims of cause and effect with each other. In this way 
the rich content that history offers may not shrink away within 
the limits of some one narrow interest which the particular 
teacher or text-book maker takes to be the sum of life. 



CHAPTER X 

METHODS OF TEACHING HISTORY 

BIBLIOGRAPHY. 

Allen, J. G. Topical Studies in American History. New York, 
Macmillan. 1899. In Introduction, xv-xxv. 

Allen, W. P., see Hall. 

American Historical Association, see Committee of Seven. 

Barnes, Mary Sheldon. Studies in Historical Method. Boston, Ginn. 

Charming, E., and Hart, A. B. Guide to the Study of American His- 
tory. Boston, Ginn. Particularly 19-29, 152-225. 

Committee of Seven. History in Schools, 86-100. 

Committee of Ten. Washington. 1893. P P- 1S5-200. 

Cook, Webster. In School Review, VII. 230 ff. 

Fiteh, J. G. Lectures on Teaching. London and New York, Mac- 
millan. 1891. Pp. 33 6 -355- 

Goodrich, A. L. History in Secondary Schools, School Review, 

VII. 29-35. 

Hall, G. S. Methods of Teaching and Studying History (first ed. 
Boston, 1883, in two sections of pp. 207, 92: second ed. 1895, PP- 39 1 )- 
The first edition contains nothing omitted in the second except an essay 
of Dr. Diesterweg on Instruction in History, pp. 1-148. The second 
edition has several additional contributions on methods, the most impor- 
tant being Professor Hart's Methods of Teaching American History, 
W. C. Collar's Advice to an Inexperienced Teacher of History. In both 
are Professor W. F. Allen's lists of books, topics, and his brief essay on 
the Topical Method of Historical Study. Pp. 239-385 are bibliographical 
lists. 

Hinsdale, B. A. How to Teach and Study History, particularly 53-66. 

Hnlrng, B. G. History in Secondary Education. EDUCATIONAL 
Review, VII. 448 &-, VIII. 43 & 

Jager, O. Didaktik und Methodik des Geschichtsunterrichts. 
Miinchen, 1895. . 

Laurie, S. S. In School Review, IV. 659-660. 

Lavisse, E. A propos de nos Ecoles, 77-107. 

Mace, W. H. Method in History. Particularly 1-76, 255-308. 

Martin, Mrs. A. C. What shall we Attempt in the Elementary 
Schools, in the Report of the National Educational Association. 1874. 
Pp. 274 ff. 



148 METHODS OF TEACHING HISTORY 

Middle States and Maryland, Association of Colleges and Preparatory 
Schools, Proceedings, particularly those for 1894, 1896, 1897, 1898. 

New England History Teachers' Association, Report No. 1, pp. 11-43 > 
No. 3, pp. 37-49. 

New England Association of Colleges and Preparatory Schools, report 
of 1895 meeting, in School Review, III. 480 ff. 

Rice, Emily J. History in Common Schools. Educational 
Review, XII. 169 ff. 

Seignobos, C. In Appendix I. in Langlois and Seignobos. Intro- 
duction. 

Thompson, Anna B. Suggestion to Teachers, in Channing's Student's 
History of the United States, 29-35. 

"West, W. M. The Purpose and Scope of History in the High School. 
Report of National Educational Association for 1890, pp. 648 ff. 

The growing interest in the study of history in the schools 
has led to a more careful examination of the problem of method. 
Value of 1^ is not true tnat tms problem was never intelli- 

Method. gently analyzed prior to the last ten or fifteen years. 1 

The deadening manner in which history was often taught aroused 
voices of protest, although few took the trouble to listen. There 
were teachers so fitted by aptitude and by reading to interest 
others in history, that they had little to learn from a more for- 
mal study of methods, just as there were historians before the 
days of the modern historical school. Does any one regret that 
Herodotus was not trained in a German seminary? But the in- 
stinct that leads the highly endowed straight towards the goal 
is so rare that the need of a thoughtful consideration of the 
problem of teaching cannot be ignored. Undoubtedly the 
progress that has been made in the study of the methods of 
teaching other subjects has contributed many suggestions toward 
the solution of this more special problem. 

If the course of study be continued for eight years, there must 
be a constant adjustment of the method of teaching to the grow- 



1 See especially a paper by Mrs. A. C. Martin before the National 
Educational Association in 1874. Report for 1874, 274 ff. Also an 
article by Celeste E. Bush in National Journal of Education, V. 289. 
Here the author mentions nearly every method of adding effectiveness to 
teaching which is referred to in the Report of the New England Associa- 
tion of Colleges and Preparatory Schools for 1895. 



METHODS OF TEACHING HISTORY 1 49 

ing knowledge and capacity of the pupils. There is a natural 
pause at the close of the elementary school, for after that time 
about eighty-five per cent of the pupils no longer in Relation to 
attend school. This does not mean that a radical A ^e. 
change in the way of dealing with the subject must take place 
here, although some things may be accomplished subsequently 
which cannot be done in the elementary school. If the teacher 
keeps carefully in mind what should be attained by the close 
of this period of school life, he will morer-readily determine what 
modifications the general methods of teaching history must 
undergo in order that they may fit the conditions of either ele- 
mentary or secondary school. 

When the pupils leave the elementary school, they should have 
had at least two years of formal instruction in history on the 

basis of a text-book. If the scheme suggested m 

_ . ,, ° Resultof 

the chapter on the Programme be followed, there Elementary 

might be another year or two of such work, simpli- Work - 

fied, and emphasizing the biographical or picturesque side of 

events. The pupils should also have been taught the use of 

books other than the text-book in their supplementary reading. 

As they have had careful instruction in expressing their thoughts 

or their knowledge in short themes or papers, this power should 

have been brought as early as possible to the service of their 

historical work. They are too young to show much keenness 

in comparison, analysis, and generalization, but a beginning 

of such efforts should be made, if the teacher can guard 

against a superficial brightness, manifested by a fondness for 

the parrot-like repetition of phrases and formulas, under the 

mistaken impression that this is reflection. The use of topics 

should not be pushed too far with such pupils, who have so 

little critical independence. These considerations may serve 

to modify the general methods for the formal teaching of 

history in the elementary school. 1 

A well-prepared teacher is the most fundamental condition 

of good teaching. No variety of ingenious devices can make 

1 R. G. Huling in Educational Review t , VIII. 45, 46. 



150 METHODS OF TEACHING HISTORY 

up for a lack of natural capacity and of adequate training. It 
would be unwise to assert that training cannot be obtained out- 
Preparation of Sl de the walls of colleges or universities, but it is still 
the Teacher, more foolish to regard as unnecessary such long- 
continued and carefully directed preparation. If it cannot be 
had, the teacher must make good the loss by a judicious course 
of self-instruction. Every observer of American education 
notes with astonishment the lack among the teachers of any 
special training to deal with this subject. " It is still not very 
unusual to find that history is taught, if such a word is appro- 
priate, by those who have made no preparation, and that classes 
are sometimes managed — we hesitate to say instructed — by 
persons who do not profess either to be prepared or to take in- 
terest in the subject." 1 This is not surprising when it is remem- 
bered that until recently colleges of standing in the educational 
world distributed history among the professors whose hours of 
teaching were not already overcrowded. One who examines 
the French or the German system of preparing teachers can see 
what America must still accomplish before the work of instruc- 
tion is effectively performed. 

There are at least four qualifications which every teacher 
should endeavour to win : first, sufficient knowledge ; second, 

some practice in using historical evidence ; third, 
Qualifications. } . _ , , , ... 

fair-mindedness and a wholesome spirit in present- 
ing facts ; fourth, skill in narration and in developing the pupil's 
knowledge by questions, and practical ability in directing the 
work of the class. 

The teacher's knowledge should have the right quality ; it 
should be sure and intelligent, rather than voluminous and 

encyclopaedic. One who is able to interpret a part 

of the field of history is fitted to approach any 
other part and to understand it. The incidents are not the 
same, but they all belong to the same great human experience. 
There are only a few ways in which they have left traces or 



Study of History in Schools, 113, 147. 



METHODS OF TEACHING HISTORY 151 

records of themselves, and the rules for the criticism or inter- 
pretation of these sources of information do not vary, although 
unusual skill is often required in applying them. The teacher 
must get far enough below the dry surface of affairs, the brief 
description in the text-book, to feel the deep currents of life, 
social, religious, or political, which give significance to names and 
dates. If he has in this way comprehended the anti-slavery 
struggle in the United States, or the controversy of the colonies 
with England over arbitrary government, or the development of 
the English parliamentary democracy, or the mediaeval conflict 
between the papacy and the empire, the flavour of this knowl- 
edge will enrich his reflections upon every period which he 
undertakes to discuss. It will be recalled that Niebuhr thought 
the true historian must himself have passed through great events 
in order properly to interpret the history of a people. If this 
be true, certainly the teacher must at least have become inti- 
mately acquainted with some critical period of history, that he 
may from the solid ground of that knowledge start out to 
explore more hurriedly other parts of the field. With this 
intimate acquaintance will come the historical attitude of 
mind, the inclination to reflect upon the causes of events in 
a large way, to compare different historical civilisations with 
one another. The mind will also be freed from the subtle 
assumption that only the social organization of to-day, with 
its traditions and ideals, its laws and customs, is real, and that 
the past is merely a series of pictured fancies. 

How is such knowledge to be gained ? Possibly the teacher 
may have taken in a perfunctory fashion one or two courses in 
history at college, or not even that. It is best to Self _ 
select some period which possesses great natural instruction, 
interest, when human forces of all sorts seem roused to an 
unusual struggle for the mastery, and some problem of life 
arrays parties or even states against one another. Such are 
the Reformation, the English Revolution, the French Revolu- 
tion, the War for Independence, and the industrial revolution. 
The next step is to read a work of power on the subject, the 



152 METHODS OF TEACHING HISTORY 

work of an historian who is also a creator of literature. With 
quickened interest the reader can then turn to some other 
interpretation of the same events. It will be strange if in the 
clash of opinion a new curiosity is not created of sufficient 
strength to carry him still further into the midst of affairs, so 
that he may discover through their personal part in the crisis 
by studying the career of one or two of the principal actors, 
a truer interpretation of it. No one can read even the frag- 
mentary recollections of Bismarck without feeling differently 
toward the cause of Prussia and what she did in Europe between 
1862 and 1871. After the teacher has sought by some such 
method as this to know what history is, — history in both senses, 
not merely the process of events, but the way the great historical 
artist interprets the events in a narrative, — it will not be irk- 
some for him to read at least one good book on every period 
covered by the course of study. This need not be done the 
first year, but each year light should break on some page of the 
story, so that the pupils may catch the impression of this fresh 
source of supply. 

It is not too much to ask that the teacher do at least one 
piece of scholarly work, for the training it will give in handling 
Original tne subject. Any teacher who desires to use the 

Work. sources in teaching must gain such preliminary 

experience, in an historical seminary under competent direc- 
tion if possible, and if not, by going straight to the original 
sources, examining each, its origin and relations to the incidents 
which it furnishes evidence for, cross-examining each to put a 
valuation upon every bit of testimony. Even if the teacher has 
not had seminary training, he can put himself under the guid- 
ance of books and can compare his results with the conclusions 
of the historians who have discussed the matter. Such work 
will train him in carefulness of statement, for it will cultivate his 
sense for exactness and his respect for fidelity to the evidence. 
No direct use can be made of this in the recitation room, but 
it will preserve his teaching from vagueness, inaccuracy, exag- 
geration, sensationalism. With a knowledge that is sound, if 



METHODS OF TEACHING HISTORY 1 53 

not extensive, supported by a little practice in scholarly work, 
the teacher's intellectual preparation is satisfactory. 1 

The preparation of the teacher for the practical management 
of classes cannot be described in a paragraph or two. It must 
be given in the normal school or must come through experience. 
From the objects which the teacher is to accomplish the ele- 
ments of this training may be inferred. 

It is difficult to speak of the spirit in which history should be 
taught without seeming to fall into platitudes. One's own theory 
of life inevitably gives the characteristic note to all 
teaching that deals with life. This personal ele- Spmt * 
ment may add greatly to the value of the teaching, but from 
it may also come harm. It is hardly fair for the person who 
has become disillusioned, as the phrase goes, to inflict his senti- 
mental cynicism upon his pupils, or even to allow it to colour 
his teaching. He may reasonably conclude that, as the world 
shows no symptoms of discontinuing in disgust, the children at 
least have the right to be protected against dark views of things. 
They must be told the dark facts, but these should appear un- 
usual and abnormal. It is only individuals that despair ; even 
dying races are still hopeful. The teacher's love of righteous- 
ness can manifest itself in ways more effective than pointing out 
the petty hypocrisies by which great men sometimes cloak deeds 
of violence. The older pupils should know that Napoleon was 
a tyrant, but this is not the only nor the principal notion they 
should receive of his career. Noble men have lived, and many 
men who were not always noble sometimes acted nobly, and 
therefore the pupil should not be allowed to get the impression 
that critical skill is chiefly busied in " tearing away the veil," 
as the French Revolutionists used to say. Perhaps by the 
praise of noble deeds, if this be done with dignity, and free 
from maudlin sentimentality, a respect for uprightness will take 
root in the minds of the children. It is repeating the same 
thing in another way to declare that the teacher should not fall 

1 Cf. Hinsdale, 138 ff., in which accounts are also given of the influ- 
ences which affected the development of some of the great historians. 



154 METHODS OF TEACHING HISTORY 

into the temptation to arouse interest by dilating upon the horri- 
ble, the eccentric, that which is effective merely to catch atten- 
tion, and which contributes nothing to the comprehension of 
the subject. 

The work of each course for the whole term should be 
mapped out in advance. The beginner will find many things to 
Plans of change in such a plan, but with increasing experi- 

Work. ence t he unity of the whole and the relation to it 

of the several parts will become clear. It is needless to say 
that this preliminary plan will lighten the task and give it zest. 
Only in this way can all the objects be gained. In the midst 
of the term weariness and the inclination to drift appear, and 
some part of the work is in danger of neglect. Besides, there 
are so many different elements in a good course in history, 
particularly in the high school, that even with planning they 
will not always be embodied. Questions of the total amount 
of supplementary reading, its character, and the detailed refer- 
ences ; the written work, the tests, the cultivation of certain 
kinds of ability in the pupils, possibly the number of attempts 
at the study of original sources, all these and more must be 
taken into the account. 

In devising such a scheme, there is danger of overloading 
the course. 1 The teacher should carefully consider what his 
An Overloaded P u pil s are a ^le to accomplish, remembering that 
Course. they must have time to assimilate what they study, 

that the facts and ideas cannot be crowded upon them. Since 
the new seems more interesting to the pupils than the old, the 
mistake is frequently made of neglecting reviews, or the rehand- 
ling in a different way of the facts with which the pupil is 
already familiar. But it is more interesting to children to feel 
a sense of mastery in dealing with the familiar than to grope 
about in the dark, for the charm of occasionally being dazzled. 

The long plan should not preclude a definite, more detailed 
notion each day of what is to be accomplished in the single 



1 Emily J. Rice in Educational Review, XII. 174. 



METHODS OF TEACHING HISTORY 155 

lesson. This will always come as a revision of the other, 

which is simply a general guide and reminder. 

The place where the classes meet, even if it be a part of a 

large room, should in some way suggest the subject. A shelf 

full of historical works, one or two maps hung on 

Class-room. 

the walls, may do this, but they will not catch the 
pupil's wandering thoughts as well as photographs. These will 
often fill a mind ready to be led off in one direction or another 
with images which will never fade. If the picture is to perform 
such an important teaching function, it should be chosen as 
carefully as the more formal means of instruction. There 
should be a few of the world's great faces, Lincoln, Gladstone, 
Bismarck, Webster, Pitt, Washington, Cromwell, Queen Eliza- 
beth, not selected from the heroes of one nation or of one period, 
but those which will lead back the mind over the long road 
of human achievement. And there should be pictures of 
several historic structures, the Parthenon, the Forum, Notre 
Dame, the walls of Nuremberg, Westminster Abbey, Independ- 
ence Hall, and Faneuil Hall. This is not an adequate list, 
but it indicates the aim. Photographs of historic paintings are 
not so valuable unless they are the work of a great artist who 
succeeded in interpreting historically on his canvas the actual 
occurrences of a momentous occasion. If photographs cannot 
be obtained, the cheaper prints will partially meet the same 
end, or even pictures cut from magazines and properly mounted. 
It should be remembered that each picture has a work to do, 
and if it cannot perform this function, it has no place on the 
walls. 

The formal means of instruction are the text-book, the books 
for collateral reading, maps, and pictures, in addition to those 
which adorn the walls. 

For several years the text-book has been accused of being 
" a root of all kinds of evil " in the teaching of history. The 
book of the older type was partly responsible for 
this general onslaught. " Its author was frequently 
a literary hack, ready to compile a dictionary, annotate a 



156 METHODS OF TEACHING HISTORY 

classical text, or write an algebra, as occasion offered. ' 7l 
Moreover, the book was made to suffer for the sins of the 
teacher. If the teacher was content to assign so many para- 
graphs to be committed to memory, and to be recited accord- 
ing to the " next," or " you may go on from there " method, 
the book was blamed. In spite of all the outcry the text-book 
is still regarded by the most competent teachers as a necessity. 
It preserves unity in the work of the course, and furnishes a 
basis for collateral readings or for the more detailed study of 
special topics. The remarkable improvement in the more 
recent text-books upon all periods of history has made this 
conclusion unassailable. 

It is sometimes urged that two text-books should be used 
in order that the members of the class may be constantly con- 
fronted by the necessity of comparing one account with another. 2 
There are undoubted advantages in such a plan, although there 
are also practical difficulties. Since hardly any two authors ap- 
proach a subject from the same point of view or put the same 
emphasis upon its different phases, the pupils will be forced 
to take a more alert, critical attitude towards the text-book, 
and will occasionally be eager to settle a difference between the 
two by an appeal to the books in the library. They will 
realize in some measure that a book is not a final, complete 
statement, although this progress in the knowledge of books 
may become a precocious assurance in fault-finding, which 
is far from a true critical attitude. The use of two books may 
confuse the pupils unless the teacher is able steadily to keep 
in sight the thread of unity and to make clear the relations of 
the two to this. Pupils who are unaccustomed to the com- 
plexity of historical incidents, whose imaginations cannot hold 
the elements of an incident long enough to gain a conception 
of the whole, may be hopelessly muddled by the new series 
which comes in from another treatment of the subject. 

1 Text-books in American History, Publications of the New England 
History Teachers' Association, No. 3, p. 4. 

2 New England Association of Colleges and Preparatory Schools, 
Report on Entrance Requirements in History, 480-482. 



METHODS OF TEACHING HISTORY I $7 

There are several characteristics of a good text-book. In 
the first place it should have been written by a competent 
scholar. In France such work has been long a Good Text- 
regarded as a patriotic duty. American historians ^ 00 ^ 
have recently begun to take their part in the making of these 
books. The effective text-book must also rest upon a close 
acquaintance with the problem of instruction. The practical 
teacher, if he has had the scholarly training, has the advantage 
which comes from his experience in dealing with pupils. 

The book itself should not be overloaded with many details, 
although it should be a book of facts, not of ready-made judg- 
ments which will relieve the pupil from forming any opinions 
of his own. 1 If the narrative is too detailed, there will be less 
time and incentive to consult other books. Its pages should 
not be sprinkled with dates. A distinction should be made 
between those which are inserted for the sake of precision and 
others which are to be committed to memory. There must 
be abundant maps, some of them comprehending the events 
of a period, others mere sketches in black and white of a 
single incident, like the cession of Alsace-Lorraine, the parti- 
tions of Poland, or the Oregon question. 

Another characteristic of a well-constructed text-book is 
instructive illustrations. These, like the pictures on the walls, 
should not represent the customary historical instructive 
fancies, — the Landing of Columbus, Washington Illustrations. 
Crossing the Delaware, or Sheridan's Ride. 2 If an artist has 
investigated his theme, and has portrayed with fidelity his 



1 Webster Cook in the School Review, VII. 230 ff. He adds that 
it is the teacher's business to develop the thoughts which the facts, 
properly marshalled, are fitted to bring out, rather than to watch over 
the reproduction of the facts. 

2 The Text-Book Committee of the New England History Teachers' 
Association remark that " history has suffered much at the hands of art. 
The fancy picture, resting upon no historical data known to man, has 
been the bane of our school books . . . illustrations should be drawn, as 
far as possible, from contemporary sources, they should be of historical 
value and significance." Publications of the Association, No. 3, pp. 
11, 12. 



158 METHODS OF TEACHING HISTORY 

conception of a scene, his picture possesses a certain value as 
a means of instruction. It differs from the written narrative 
only in the fact that its story is told without words. If more than 
one portrait of an individual is extant, that should be chosen 
which represents him at the time when his career is most inter- 
esting to history. From the portraits that are too frequently 
printed, one might infer that the work of the world has gener- 
ally been done by old men. A good text-book should also be 
provided with a few genealogical tables, if it deals 
with the history of Europe between the days of 
Charlemagne and the French Revolution, when the births and 
marriages of princes were political events. The genealogy of 
Charles the Fifth is a fact of greater significance and of more 
lasting consequence in the history of Europe than any single 
battle that ever took place. Chronological summaries, topical 
outlines, questions for further study are now often included in 
text-books. But even if all these things appear, it is necessary 
to consult critical estimates of each book in the educational 
or historical reviews, in order to determine whether it rests upon 
the foundation of sound scholarship. 

The relations between the school and the library have already 
been considered. The object of collateral reading is twofold : 
History as ^ supplements the text-book, giving the student ad- 
Literature, ditional information and describing the same events 
from new points of view ; and it also cultivates the student's 
interest in history as literature. If men and women seek to 
satisfy their deep interest in the play of human forces by read- 
ing fiction alone, this is not due to any defect in the character 
of their interest, nor is it due to the lack of dramas of moving 
power in the sober pages of history. It is true that in fiction 
the action is simplified, t and that attention is concentrated on 
the development of a single experience, or upon phases of a 
single event; but it is also true that the educational system 
countenances the notion that history is made up of flavourless 
quantities of facts. On the contrary, the pupils should realize 
that they can never know history until they have read some of 



METHODS OF TEACHING HISTORY 1 59 

the great masterpieces of its literature. And it is during their 
school life that they must acquire a taste for such books. If 
there is no school library, or if it is badly chosen, this can- 
not be done. But the teacher in directing the reading can 
guard against some of the evils of a badly chosen collection, by 
showing the pupils the difference between a hurried work of 
popularization and a book like Green's Short History of the 
English People. Even the encylopaedia article may be better 
literature than many a book that is in the library. References 
for reading should be definite, giving the exact pages ; other- 
wise the work may not be done ; but if the interest at any 
time is sufficiently strong, it is advisable to allow this to satisfy 
itself, for the pupil may conclude that the reading of a certain 
number of pages is the essence of the task. Moreover, if 
pupils are to be taught to find their way through books, they 
should occasionally be allowed to waste time in following one 
path or another until the right one is discovered. 

The relations between history and geography are so close 
that there must be a constant use of maps. It has been previ- 
ously explained that there are three kinds of maps The Use of 
which sooner or later are needed, although the Ma P s - 
third, that is, the map constructed at the time of the event 
which it serves to illustrate, has a more restricted use. It 
would prevent misconception if the modern map were used 
only for incidents which are contemporaneous. A serious 
obstacle is put before the pupil's imagination when he is asked, 
for example, to comprehend the explorations of La Salle with a 
map upon which are marked all the railroad systems which 
stretch out from Chicago to the west. The task would be 
simpler without any map at all. If the school has no historical 
maps which present this period, it is better to draw an outline 
on the board. Should the recitation room be provided with 
sufficient blackboard space, outlines with the principal rivers 
and mountain ranges might be painted upon them, so that only 
changes of boundary or of name need be indicated. Such 
work is not rendered unnecessary even by the presence of a 



160 METHODS OF TEACHING HISTORY 

set of historical wall maps, for these often attempt to embody 
the changes of a century or two, and are not truly representa- 
tive of the condition of affairs at any specific time. The pupils 
may also be required to sketch upon small paper outline maps 
incidents of which the geographical setting is important. 

With the multiplication of cheap prints it is becoming possible 
to make an extensive use of pictures in teaching history. Only 

certain phases of history can be illustrated : the 
Prints. 

places where great events occurred ; implements of 

war, of handicraft, and agriculture ; the temples, churches, and 
public buildings which men constructed ; their roads and 
bridges ; their ships and wagons, the beginnings of rapid trans- 
portation with locomotives and steamships ; and many other 
things which will make the life of the past more real to the 
pupil's imagination. 

The attempt through such prints to study systematically the 
art and the architecture of a period or of a people is beset with 
Art and difficulties. It is not easy to obtain a collection of 

Architecture, adequate prints, if the object be thorough work. 
It is a simple matter to lay down the rule that each 1 pupil 
must have a copy of the photograph that is to be studied, but 
not so simple a matter to conform to this counsel of perfection. 
Some periods of history can better be illustrated than others. 
It will be possible to study the great monuments of Greece and 
Rome, the churches of the Middle Ages, a few palaces, but in 
the cases of many other structures of almost equal interest to 
the student it will be difficult to obtain pictures of any critical 
value. If the child is to study the mediaeval castle, the pictures 



1 The committee of the New England History Teachers' Association 
in their report on methods explained that in order to study the Parthe- 
non sculptures effectively, there should be furnished " a set of photo- 
graphs from the original marbles of the pediments, the metopes, the 
frieze, containing as many duplicates of each picture as there are mem- 
bers in the class," and sets " of smaller photographs of other subjects 
fitted to illustrate excellence of Parthenon marbles by contrast, selected 
from ancient and modern art, each set having as many duplicates as 
there are members of the class. Report No. i, p. 38. 



METHODS OF TEACHING HISTORY 161 

should be as carefully chosen as would be pictures of the 
Parthenon or of Notre Dame. When such pictures can be 
obtained, their study can be made useful to all children, not 
merely of the high school, but also of the elementary school, if 
the teacher be content with simple results. It will be inadvis- 
able to attempt to transform young pupils into superior art 
critics 1 or to fit them to talk glibly about the later Romanesque 
or the Gothic. 

It is sometimes urged against the large use of prints that these 
weaken and narrow the range of the pupil's imagination while 
seeming to direct and stimulate it. The incident Excessive Use 
embodies many elements, but the picture can set of Pictures, 
forth only a few, and yet the child fails to note and guard 
against the consequences of the lack, so that afterwards his mind 
rests content with a hopelessly inadequate view of the affair. 
Moreover, he is not compelled to a vigorous use of his imagina- 
tion unsupported by pictorial representation, and so his natural 
capacity to do this remains undeveloped. 2 

In a few favoured places it is possible to show the pupils the 
buildings themselves, or to conduct them over historic grounds. 3 



1 Some teachers appear to presuppose in the pupil a developed 
capacity to study from such sources phases of the historic past which 
they cannot begin to comprehend or feel until they are far along in their 
college career. For example, a prominent committee of teachers asked 
not long ago, " Where is better opportunity than in connection^ with 
Greek history to teach, as an essential of the highest beauty, power, 
compelling strength, and thus save the study of art from degenerating 
into mere prettyism, vapidity, triviality ... let us strive to open the 
sensibilities of our pupils to the power of line and measure, forms and 
planes, light and shade, to express nobility, and purity, and simplicity, 
and strength, and largeness of nature." " Vor diesen grossen Worten ist 
uberall und am meisten im Geschichtsunterricht zu warnen." O. 
Jager, Geschichtsimterrichts, p. 22-. 

2 Jager, 6i. 

3 Nowhere in America do historical remains of great significance lie 
stratum upon stratum as in Europe. In Klemm's Eziropean Schools 
this peculiar privilege of the European boy is illustrated : ' The teacher 
took the party to a high hill and said, ' There it was where Prince 
Ferdinand chased the Frenchmen across the Rhine. Yonder castle is 
the ancient residence of the Dukes of Jiilich-Cleve-Berg, and in that 

it 



162 METHODS OF TEACHING HISTORY 

So far as this is practicable, it can have only happy conse- 
quences. If the classes are small, they may be personally con- 
ducted and their investigations effectively supervised, 
Excursions. ^ ^ at ^ work ^^ p ro d uce reS ults in knowledge 

and in training. Or individual members may be sent, their 
minds sharpened by a judicious set of questions. What they 
learn may be economically used as a part of their work both in 
history and in English. Similar results may be accomplished 
with elementary pupils. But when in large city schools, the 
numbers begin to climb towards the thousands, the sordid items 
of time, distance, means of transportation, discipline, cannot be 
ignored. It is therefore advisable not to erect the historical 
pilgrimage into a dogma, and to punish as heretics teachers who 
are unable to make any use of such sources of information. 

The length of the recitation depends upon the age of the 
pupil. The Committee of Fifteen recommended that for the 
Length of fifth an( i sixtn grades the length be twenty-five min- 
Recitation. uteS5 anc j thirty minutes for the seventh and eighth. 
In the secondary school the periods vary in different schools, 
according to their convenience, rather than according to the 
ages of the pupils, generally from forty minutes to the full hour. 

Each day's work should find its place in the whole work of 
the term. Not only must the teacher so regard it, but the 
pupils must feel that they are moving on steadily 
and without confusion from one position to another. 
This can be accomplished by a review of the preceding lesson, 
or of a series of lessons which illustrate the same subject. The 
work already done, as one lesson succeeds another, gradually 
gains a new quality, its relations begin to appear, a body of 
knowledge is created which enables the pupil the better to 



castle it was where the beautiful Princess Jacobae of Baden was mur- 
dered. Far in the distance you can see the towers of the Cathedral of 
Cologne, begun some time during the thirteenth and finished during our 
nineteenth century. Yonder is the ancient convent built by the successor 
of Bishop Boniface ; here the ruins of the ancient Falkenburg, the feudal 
castle in which lived the owner of the land as far as you can see.' " Pp. 
59-60. 



METHODS OF TEACHING HISTORY 163 

grasp and assimilate each new fact. 1 The particular way in 
which so difficult a problem of instruction may be solved 
depends on the place in the whole course of historical training 
where the pupil stands, just as the sort of knowledge which 
can be assimilated varies. It is the teacher's business to study 
the mind of the child carefully, to take account of its stock of 
ideas, of its experience with the world, so that the impossible 
shall not be expected. The inexperienced teacher is inclined 
to be so interested in the subject, and in conveying his own 
views of it, that he forgets to inquire whether he is leading the 
child out into deep water. 2 

The work in history should also be correlated with other parts 
of the course of study. Correlation with geography has already 
been insisted upon, but there may be correlation CorreJation 
with English literature, and with the classical and 
the modern languages, although not so much with the modern 
languages, because the pupil does not get far enough in the 
study of these to read the literature. The same objection might 
be urged in the case of the classics, except that even the Greek 
and Latin words themselves have an historic flavour; they 
carry the mind far back toward a society profoundly different 
from modern society. The language differs more from English 
in the suggestions of the words, therefore, than even in the 
forms. It may be added that the work of writing English should 
find in history many of its themes. 3 

Those who strive to avoid the evils of the so-called text-book 
method assign lessons by topics rather than by pages. It is 

difficult to do this unless the text-book is con- . 

Topics, 
structed on the topical plan. If the teacher en- 
deavours to teach history and not pages, it makes little difference 
how the lesson is given out. 

1 " A fundamental rule is that, before being set to work, the pupil 
shall be led into a field of consciousness similar to that in which his work 
is to lie." Charles De Garmo, Herbart, 77. 

2 Mary Sheldon-Barnes, Studies in Historical Method, 57 ff. 

3 Well-developed illustrations of correlation may be studied in De 
Garmo, Herbart, 1 1 3 ff. 



1 64 METHODS OF TEACHING HISTORY 

In the management of the lesson, some teachers seek in the 
topical method more than a convenient way of presenting the 
Dangers of f acts '> tne y a PP ear to look upon it as the principal 
the Method, means of mental training. According to one plan 
there should be a general topic of which the work for the day 
forms a part. In the preparation for the special topic of the 
day references are given, first, to text-books and brief histories, 
and second, to larger histories. 1 There are also to be a topic 
for special written work, another for discussion, and besides this 
map work. The recitation may take one of the following 
methods : i, the quiz, or rapid fire of questions ; 2, an abstract 
of the readings ; 3, fluent recitations covering a whole or some 
phase of the question, and which ordinarily should not be inter- 
rupted with questions ; 4, written recitations ; 5, analysis of 
topics; 6, discussion of doubtful points; 7, complete written 
exposition of some assigned topic. According to another plan, 
a subject is assigned, " certain books are indicated, the pupils 
are required to prepare as their lesson a topical analysis of the 
subject which shall show at a glance its essential points, the 
comparative importance of these points, their logical sequence, 
and their specific content. In the recitation hour one pupil is 
sent to the board to put upon it his analysis, the class is consulted 
at every step as to the judgment he shows ; the large topics are 
keenly scrutinized, and a vigorous effort is made to discover in 
them a common element, that we may include two or more in 
one — ' to boil down ' our analysis is our constant effort, and he 
who sees the synthetic link which unites several particulars wins 
the triumph of the hour. This seeking similarity in the midst 
of diversity is the very essence of thought," etc. 2 This refine- 



1 A. L. Goodrich in School Review, VII. 34. Mr. Goodrich's 
method is further carried out in his Topics in Greek History, New York, 
1898. 

2 Anna B. Thompson in Educational Review, IX. 364 ff. See also 
Miss Thompson's Suggestions to Teachers in Channing's Students* History 
of the United States, xxxi-xxxv. Here it is declared that " the study of 
history should be essentially a study of logic which is written in concrete 
facts. The problem which confronts the teacher is to discover the prac- 



METHODS OF TEACHING HISTORY 16$ 

ment of analysis is not without its dangers. It cultivates a cer- 
tain keenness in the pupils, but it may degenerate into a childish 
sort of scholasticism. "Valuable as is the ability to institute 
comparisons, and in this way to bring out the relations of a fact, 
or, to put the matter more correctly, to develop the content and 
significance of a fact, the process is not an end in itself, it is 
simply a means to the end. Of course, no one would deny this, 
and yet the activity of the pupil may be overstimulated in this 
direction, simply because it seems to give the work a sort of 
mathematical precision. Much of history is made up of great 
passions in action, ideals leading men on, the unfolding of a 
noble or a despicable character, and all belonging, near at hand 
or in the far perspective, to the complex experience of mankind. 
That which may be topicalized most readily is the growth of 
institutions, or the great historic movements extending over 
centuries, like the shifting of populations and political power 
after the fall of the Roman Empire. After all, every method 
has its limitations which must be discovered by the teacher be- 
fore it can be used with discretion. 

Each method of questioning pupils has its place, the quiz for 
a quick review, the fluent or continuous recitation to give the 
pupil an opportunity to cultivate his power of narra- 
tion, and the usual form of questioning which seeks 
to develop the pupil's own thinking by approaching his mind on 
this side and on that. The illustration of the last which Pro- 
fessor Lavisse listened to in Paris shows it in its most suggestive 
form, 1 The teacher must seek to preserve balance in the activi- 
ties of the class, and he must avoid the temptation of helping 
out the lazy and the dull by asking leading questions which can 
be answered by "yes" or "no," or by a mutilated sentence. 
Questioning is a high art, which the teacher should study not 



tical methods by which the facts of history may be used as raw material 
for classification according to the laws of thought." If this is true, the 
name history on the school curriculum should at once give way to logic 
in order that the pupils should not be under a misapprehension as to 
what they are studying. 
1 See p. 51. 



1 66 METHODS OF TEACHING HISTORY 

only as he teaches, but by consulting the achievements of 
others. It has been forever dignified by the importance Socrates 
placed upon it. 

The amount and character of the written work which should 
be done by the pupils depends partly upon the conditions 
Written peculiar to each school. Since this work must be 

Work. carefully supervised, if it is to result in the better 

training of the pupils, it makes startling inroads on the teacher's 
time. 1 One enthusiast has declared that if each pupil is granted 
a conference lasting fifteen minutes every week, the pupil's note- 
book containing a digest of his private reading can be easily 
looked over. This recommendation is suited, perhaps, to a 
half-dozen highly favoured schools in each State, but if it were 
carried into effect in large city high schools with two thousand 
students, it would call for about five hundred hours a week, and 
even were there ten teachers of history in these schools, this 
would amount to fifty hours apiece. Consequently anything 
that may be said on written work is subject to serious qualifica- 
tion. The New England Association of Colleges and Prepara- 
tory Schools was unwilling to take as advanced ground as their 
committee recommended in this matter ; for instead of urging 
that the colleges insist on five distinct kinds of such work for 
entrance requirement, it contented itself with some practice in 
three out of the five. As the making of maps was one of the 
five, the total number may be reduced to four which call for 
what may strictly be termed writing. One of these is rather an 
incident to the well-conducted recitation than writing to be 
done outside the class-room, although it also calls for super- 
vision by the teacher. This is the written recitation. Another 
of the four — " written parallels between historical characters 
or periods " — is obviously intended to develop the pupil's 
powers of comparison and statement. Only one of the two 
that remain needs to be considered here, for the investigation 
of topics by the use of sources will be considered in the chapter 



1 Report of N. E. Association in School Review, III. 477 ff. 



METHODS OF TEACHING HISTORY 1 67 

on the "source-method." This is the use of note-books, which 
is the most difficult question of all. 

Some form of note-taking is necessary, otherwise the collat- 
eral reading can hardly be made effective. According to the 

Harvard entrance requirements, adopted in 1899, 

. , - r Taking Notes, 

the note-book must contain at least fifty pages upon 

each field offered, and embodying practice in some of the five 
forms already indicated. What shall the pupil put in his note- 
book ? Shall it be simply a digest of what he has read ? Some 
passages do not lend themselves to this process. They are 
read because they are literature, not because they contain more 
information than the encyclopaedia or the manual of universal 
history. Carlyle's French Revolution cannot be treated in this 
fashion; nor is Carlyle the only writer whom boys and girls 
cannot squeeze into a summary. It is not necessary to ex- 
pound a theory of note-taking, for it is evident that if the 
teacher thoughtfully considers the question, he will conclude 
that he must carefully explain to the pupil how each book is to 
be treated. In some cases the pupil can put in a few facts not 
contained in the text-book, for the note-book should be consid- 
ered as a supplement to the text-book. In other cases the 
opinions of an author are the reason for consulting his work. 
Again the only fact of value is the impression the pupil received 
by reading the book. The rules should not be so rigid that the 
pupil will look upon the process as simply a task to be com- 
pleted. If he is inclined to fill his note-book even with his own 
immature reflections, or with references to the passages that 
interested him most, this will furnish an advantageous starting- 
point for fruitful study. It is convenient to take notes on 
loose sheets, so that they may later be classified and that it may 
not be necessary to construct an index. The gradual accumu- 
lation of facts and opinions about some incident or character 
will itself stimulate the pupil to greater industry, because he 
feels his progress. 

As the first principle of method is the teacher, so also is the 
last principle. It is from the personality of the teacher, from 



1 68 METHODS OF TEACHING HISTORY 

his enthusiasm in penetrating ever deeper into his subject, that 
the interest of the pupils will catch a quickening influence. 
The teacher is not to be discouraged, therefore, if he does not 
possess all the facilities listed in the catalogues of publishing- 
houses or assumed in the discussions at teachers' conventions ; 
if he can succeed in leading his pupils to study history, to 
comprehend it, and to acquire the habit of reading historical 
literature, his method is sound. 



CHAPTER XI 

THE SOURCE METHOD 

BIBLIOGRAPHY. 

Caldwell, H. W. Source Method of Studying History in High 
Schools. In the Proceedings of the National Educational Association, 
1897, 670 ff. 

Colby, C. W. Selections from the Sources of English History, 
Introduction. London and New York, Longmans. 1899. 

Committee of Seven, Report, pp. 101-110. 

Fling, P. M., and Caldwell, H. W. Studies in History. Chicago, 
Ainsworth & Co. 

Hart, A. B. In Source Book of American History, pp. xvii-xlii. 
New York, The Macmillan Co. 1899. Also in his American History 
told by Contemporaries, Introductions. 

Hill, Mabel. Liberty Documents with Contemporary Exposition and 
Critical Comments drawn from various writers. Edited, with an Intro- 
duction by A. B. Hart, Professor in Harvard University. New York 
and London, Longmans. 1901. 

Kendall, Elizabeth. K. Source Book of English History, pp. xvii- 
xxii. The Macmillan Co. 1900. 

Langlois and Seignobos. Introduction to the Study of History. 

New England History Teachers' Association, a forthcoming report on 
Sources, with list of those available in English. 

Pennsylvania, University of. Leaflet by Department of History. 

Kobinson, J. H. Ought the Sources to be Used in Teaching History ? 
Proceedings of the Second Annual Convention of the Association of 
Colleges and Preparatory Schools in the Middle States and Maryland, 
pp. 38 ff. 

Sheldon-Barnes, Mrs. Mary. Methods of Teaching General History. 
National Educational Association, 1891, pp. 673 ff. Also The Teaching 
of Local History in the Educational Review, X. 481 ff. Also with 
Earl Barnes, Collections of Sources in English for History Teaching, 
Educational Review, XV. 331-338. Also her Studies in Historical 
Method. 

Schilling, M. Quellenbuch zur Geschichte der Neuzeit. 2d ed. Ber- 
lin, 1890, Introduction. 

Woodburn, J. A. To what Extent may Undergraduate Students of 
History be Trained in the Use of the Sources ? American Historical 
Association, Report, 1897, pp. 45-49. 



I/O THE SOURCE METHOD 

Among the methods by which it is sought to render the 

teaching of history more effective, the one which chiefly arouses 

. . . . A . discussion is the use of what are called " the 
Origin of the 

"Source" sources." It has already been explained that the 
e ° ' German seminary was founded to exercise students 

in the investigation of the original materials from which history 
must be written. The American seminaries have had the same 
object. Although the creators of the scheme looked with dis- 
favour upon any attempt to adapt the method to a use by other 
than a few selected students who had already received a large 
amount of historical instruction, and most of whom proposed to 
devote their lives to historical investigation, it was not long 
before bolder spirits, both in Germany and in America, tried to 
introduce it in a modified form into the German gymnasium 
and the American college, and even into the American 
secondary school. 

As early as 1835 a gymnasial instructor, Dr. C. Peters, 
argued that the pupil's knowledge must be defective unless it 
German Ex- rested to some extent upon his own inferences 
periments. f rom historical evidence. He also believed that 
the pupil would by such work gain a more lively perception of 
events. Accordingly he published a chronological table of 
Greek history, with selections from the Greek writers. Six 
years later he did the same for Roman history. These excerpts 
were not translated into German, and were for the upper 
gymnasium classes, corresponding to the freshman and sopho- 
more classes of the American college, possibly also to the 
senior class in the secondary school. It was a long time before 
a similar work was done for the Middle Ages and for modern 
times. The opposition to the new method, led by Dr. Oskar 
Jager, was so strong that the limitation of the use of the sources 
to ancient history and to untranslated passages from the Greek 
and Latin writers has almost become a dogma. 1 

In America Mary D. Sheldon, a student in Professor C. K. 
Adams' seminary, was the first to use original sources exten- 

1 Schilling, 9. 



THE SOURCE METHOD I /I 

sively in conducting elementary college classes. From the be- 
ginning of her work at Wellesley, in 1877, according to her 
own description, " every week a number of pages £arly At 
of material, prepared from original sources, were tempts in 
copied by the electric pen, and a copy placed in 
the hands of every student. Accompanying this material a 
dozen or more problems were set, requiring independent and 
original thought . . . and as much additional reading was sug- 
gested and encouraged as possible, especially from contemporary 
literature." 1 

A little later, and as a result of her Wellesley experience, 
Miss Sheldon attempted further to simplify the method, to 
meet the requirements of secondary schools. This was done 
in her General History, published in 18S5. 2 Instead of the 
usual narrative, there were bare summaries, tables, etc.. intended 
to supplement the excerpts of original material which were to 
constitute the distinguishing characteristic of the text-book. 

This original material is more abundant in the sections 
devoted to Greek and Roman history than in those which 
treat European history after 476 a. d. Furthermore, out of 
one hundred pages given to the period from 164S to 1880, 
there are not over a dozen pages of sources. And even where 
materials are furnished, they either cannot be adequately inter- 
preted without additional sources, or will convey a distorted, 
if not an erroneous impression. 3 



1 H. E. Adams, American Colleges and Universities, 214. 

2 The preface explained that the volume ''contained just the sort of 
things that historians must deal with when they want to describe or judge 
any period of history. ... In Greek history, it gives . . . pictures of 
buildings and statues, extracts from speeches, laws, poems ; from these 
materials you must form your own judgment of the Greeks, discover 
their style of thinking, acting, living, feeling ; you must, in short, imagine 
that you yourself are to write a Greek history." 

8 For example a question is asked, "Judging from (c). what refor- 
mation is needed in the church ? " (c) contains two short passages, the 
first explaining why the abbot of Wardon resigned his office in 153S, and 
showing beyond possibility of contradiction that this abbey needed visi- 
tation, and the second revealing the superstitious reverence for relics at 
Bury. In the hands of a well-trained teacher such a passage might be 



172 THE SOURCE METHOD 

The use of original material in teaching history in the schools is 
sometimes called the " source " method, sometimes the " semi- 
m f nary " method, and again the " laboratory " method. 
Term "Sem- The application of the word " seminary " is mislead- 
ing, for the two agree only in the fact that by each 
original material is put before the student. No other charac- 
teristic feature of the seminary reappears in the so-called sem- 
inary method. For careful investigation of every available 
source of information is substituted the study of excerpts, valu- 
able for illustration if accurately interpreted, but too scanty for 
the formation of sound conclusions. In the one case the class is 
made up of persons who have had thorough historical instruction, 
and who may themselves aspire to teach and to write history ; 
in the other the pupils are boys and girls whose knowledge 
of history and whose comprehension of historical evidence is 
slight and vague. 

The name " laboratory " is hardly more applicable. The 
aim of laboratory work in the sciences is to bring out clearly cer- 
Laboratory tam f acts an< ^ principles which cannot adequately 
Method. fog understood if merely explained in the text-book 

or described by the lecturer. It is not " the aim of the student 
to make a so-called rediscovery of the laws of" physics, chem- 
istry, and astronomy. 1 Incidentally the pupil is trained in a 
method of investigating natural phenomena, which will increase 
his ability to deal with the facts of nature. But the laboratory 
is not intended to take the place of the lecture ; it is simply a 
co-ordinate means of instruction. Its success depends upon 
skilful guidance ; earnest guidance is not enough. 



put to good uses, but many times it might lead both teacher and pupils 
to conclusions in regard to monastic life in the sixteenth century 
utterly contrary to the facts. It might not occur to these pupils 
to recollect that Luther was a monk. Pp. 422, 423, 427. See also 
remarks of Webster Cook, before the Michigan Schoolmasters' Club, 
School Review, VII. 227 ff. 

1 Report of the Committee of Ten, p. 118. In further explanation of 
this statement, the members of the Conference on the sciences declared 
that the pupils " may, to be sure, become imperfectly acquainted with the 



THE SOURCE METHOD 1 73 

Perhaps the argument from analogy would suggest that history 
too might be taught from the sources, provided the teacher 
knew how to direct the pupil to their proper study. At the 
same time this should be only a method and not the method 
of teaching. And the pupils should not be allowed to enter- 
tain the flattering notion that they are doing what the historians 
have been obliged to do, except as the infant toddles in the 
path run by the athlete. 

There is another and a more important consideration which 

must not be overlooked. The field of science and the field of 

history are different. It is true that the historian, „ . 

n v ■ , . - . Nature of 

like the geologist, may observe with his own eyes Facts in the 

survivals of the past in his studies of the art, the Sources - 
architecture, the laws, and the ideas of a particular period, but 
historical evidence is not all of this sort. 1 Much of it is com- 
posed of observations recorded in chronicles, memoirs, letters, 
and biographies, and which are not themselves facts ; they are 
simply psychological traces of facts, mingled with inferences, 
theories, and prejudices. One talks of looking for the facts in 
somebody's memoirs, when he finds there nothing but the 
writer's impressions of facts, and not always these, for the 
writer is sometimes not frank and truthful. It must be clear 
that the pupil who studies such records is not himself making 
observations, as he would were he in a laboratory. 2 If one is 
to interpret an author who does not record his own observa- 

methods of work that have led to the discovery of the laws, and they will, 
no doubt, come to see more clearly the relations between the facts and 
the laws, but the Conference is clearly of the opinion that it is wrong to 
speak of the work of the pupils as leading to the discovery of laws." 

1 " The antiquary works with his buildings in exactly the same way in 
which the geologist works with his strata." Freeman, 232. 

2 As Professor Langlois puts the matter, " In order to conclude from 
the written document to the fact which was its remote cause — that is, 
in order to ascertain the relation which connects the document with the 
fact — it is necessary to revive in the imagination the whole of that series 
of acts performed by the author of the document which begins with the 
fact observed by him and ends with the manuscript (or printed volume)." 
And he further points out that the least error along the line will vitiate 
the whole process. Introduction to the Study of History, 66. 



174 THE SOURCE METHOD 

tions, but relates what he has been told by someone else, whose 
name and characteristics as an observer he does not describe, 
the task becomes still less like laboratory work. 

If the business of the science laboratory were simply to learn 
what experiments have been made and how they have been 
made, sometimes from the notes of chemists, but more often 
from the chance observations of persons who never had seen 
an experiment in chemistry before, or who possibly believed in 
alchemy, or thought the chemist had sold his soul to the Devil, 
then the analogy between these two much compared laborato- 
ries would be complete, with the sole exception that chemical 
phenomena are much less , intricate than the phenomena of 
human society. 

Although the first attempts to find some applications of the 
new instrument of higher instruction in history which could be 
Collections of usefully introduced into elementary college or even 
Sources. secondary school teaching may have been based 

rather on imitation than upon a fresh study of the problem, 
the interest in it steadily increased. Meanwhile the feasibility 
of placing the sources before students was increased by the 
publication of collections, many of them edited with care, and 
the later ones constructed with a more thoughtful consideration 
of the uses to which they might be put. 1 The report to the 
Committee of Ten by the Madison Conference on the teaching 
of history, in 1892 recommended training in the study of the 
sources. 2 Three years later a committee of the New England 

1 The Bohn Libraries had long afforded much material, though hardly 
in an accessible form. In 1883 the Old South Leaflets began to appear, 
furnishing in the form of cheap reprints, many famous documents, letters, 
selections from historic writings, and the like. In the following year 
Professor Alexander Johnston published three volumes of American 
Orations to illustrate American Political History. Henderson's Historical 
Documents of the Middle Ages came in 1892, and two years later the 
Department of History of the University of Pennsylvania began to pub- 
lish its valuable Translations and Reprints. These are simply a few of 
the collections which bore evidence of an increasing interest in the study 
of sources. For a bibliography of sources, see lists prefixed to chapters 
in Part II. 

2 Committee of Ten, p. 169. For this the Conference was warmly 



THE SOURCE METHOD 1 75 

Association of Colleges and Preparatory Schools declared that 
it did not " sympathize with the opinion that such work is out 
of the range of the secondary school pupil . . . it . . . will 
stimulate the pupil and tend to bring in play all his mental 
activities and all the elements of historical thinking." 1 

A judicious use of sources will undoubtedly give pupils a 
more vivid impression of certain classes of facts than they could 
obtain from even a skilfully written secondary narrative. 2 It 
will be easier for them to realize the mediaeval notion of the 
shape of the earth and its position in the universe when they 
read echoes of it in Toscanelli's famous letter. 3 The diary of 
Columbus gives the discovery the nearness and reality of an 
occurrence within their own experience. When one reads in 
a letter of the crusaders to the pope, " If you wish to know 
what was done with the enemy who were found there, know 
that in Solomon's porch and in his temple our men rode in the 
blood of the Saracens up to the knees of their horses," the form 
in which the assertion is made seems to add actuality. 4 It is 
also true that so far as pupils can successfully reach facts by 
drawing inferences from the statements which they may find in 
original documents, they know these facts in a different way 
than they can by the listless reading of a text-book. But the 
method has limitations, which must be understood in order 
more clearly to define its practical uses. 

Few of the collections of sources for the use of schools clas- 



criticised. Dr. Julius Sachs called this the "ignis fatuus of original 
research," and denied that it was the proper work for secondary schools. 
" If properly carried out, it would make inordinate demands on the pupil's 
time ; and when carried out improperly and mechanically, it adds a new 
element of pretentiousness to our work." Educational Review, 
VIII. 80, 81. 

1 School Review, III. 479. 

2 Elizabeth K. Kendall, Source Book of English History, xvii. 

3 " Do not wonder," he writes, " at my calling west the parts where 
the spices are, whereas they are commonly called east, because to persons 
sailing westward those parts will be found by courses on the under side 
of the earth." 

4 Translations and Reprints, University of ' Penn., Vol. I. No. 4, p. 10. 



176 THE SOURCE METHOD 

sify their material, but several contain matter of so simple a 
character that they present little difficulty even to young minds. 
Classification The commonly accepted classification is based on 
of Material. t} ie distinction already noticed between those things 
belonging to the past which can be directly observed, as the 
geologist observes rock formations, and those things which can 
be learned only through the mental operations of others, a 
medium the laws of whose refraction are not clearly understood 
by anybody. In the first class would be found the survivals 
of the past, simply left behind by the generations that have 
gone ; and, in the second class, those documents of all kinds 
in which a past age has sought to describe that which has 
claimed its attention and been a part of its life. The Parthe- 
non and the memoirs of Richelieu are both sources, but sources 
of a radically different character. The Parthenon was not built 
to instruct us about Greek architecture ; it is a part of Greek 
architecture : but Richelieu's memoirs are not in the same way 
a part of French politics, they are French politics as Richelieu 
saw them. Professor Bernheim calls the two classes of sources 
" remains " and " tradition." 1 

The word " remains " covers much more than is suggested 
by such an illustration as the Parthenon, that is, not merely 
what has been produced by a past age for its own 
use or pleasure, but also what it has created, its lan- 
guage, its customs, institutions, laws, even its inscriptions and 
monuments, so far as these do not embody its own ideas of men 
or of events. 

The conditions in accordance with which historic buildings, 
monuments, and scenes, or photographs of them, may be suc- 
cessfully studied have already been explained. It 
is evident that such work will not contribute any 
large part of the knowledge which the pupil should possess of the 
period which they illustrate. The other "remains" which may 
possibly be investigated by the source method are customs, laws, 
and institutions. These must be dug out of the writings where 



1 Bernheim, 1! 



THE SOURCE METHOD 1 77 

they lie imbedded. Here the principal difficulty is not in reach- 
ing the material but in studying it intelligently. The pupil 
may be vaguely interested in the subject, but his knowledge is 
generally inadequate to the interpretation of the passage which 
contains the facts he is seeking, and so he is unable to get these 
out free from misconception. 1 If such work is to be fruitful, it 
must be skilfully directed, and the teacher must select docu- 
ments for study which contain facts within the range both of 
the pupil's interest and of his capacity. 

Magna Charta may serve as an illustration. 2 There are three 
or four of its provisions the mere reading of which kindles the 
imagination of the student of English history. But Magna 
why do such words as " To no one will we sell, to Charta. 
no one will we deny, or delay right or justice," seem something 
better than a politician's platitude ? Because the student has 
got far enough into the spirit and traditions of the English 
leaders of King John's day to discover in those words the clear- 



1 " The statute-book often needs an interpreter in the circumstances of 
the time." Freeman, 258. 

2 It may seem strange that such documents are classed among " re- 
mains." But these passages in the Charter are not somebody's descrip- 
tion of what the barons wanted ; they are exactly what the barons asked 
for. If historical criticism has proved that such a document was pre- 
sented to King John, and that this text is a correct translation of the 
original text, what they asked may be observed by reading their words. 
The same principle holds of all similar documents until these documents 
contain descriptions, and in such a case the descriptions are to be studied 
as tradition. It is worth noting that the pupil is not authorized to infer 
from what such charters granted that the people were happy ever after- 
wards in the enjoyment of these privileges. Nor when such charters 
call the rights " ancient," can it be safely inferred that these were not 
merely political aspirations or at least one party's way of interpreting 
rights which actually had existed for many years. Here again enters 
the element of tradition. Nor when the Lords and Commons in the 
Petition of Right " humbly show " and most " humbly pray," is it to be 
inferred that they approached King Charles with any deep sense of 
humility. Seignobos points out that the great French historian Fustel de 
Coulanges fell into this blunder when he inferred from the formulae 
inserted in inscriptions that the people entertained sentiments of "satis- 
faction and gratitude " toward the emperors. These are " remains/' but 
remains of the etiquette of petition. 

12 



1/8 THE SOURCE METHOD 

est possible trace of their common ideals. But his knowledge 
must be far broader and deeper than anything he could obtain 
from the Charta itself in order that he should be able to really 
appreciate it. This becomes the more evident if other famous 
passages be taken up ; for example, the one which declares 
against imprisonment without legal trial, or the two which pro- 
vide for the holding of the " common council of our kingdom." 
To understand these, much special information is demanded, 
which no pupil relying alone or even principally on the source 
method could obtain. 1 

In spite of such difficulties a limited use of documents like 
Magna Charta can be made. The pupils should be sent to 
Method of them to find the answers to definite questions. For 
Study. example, it may be asked what sums of money 

could the king collect without the consent of his Great Council? 
How was this Council assembled? What persons received a 
personal summons? Were any men asked to appear for the 
towns ? How could the king be forced to carry out the promi- 
ses embodied in the Charta? Questions of this sort may be 
answered from the document itself with the help of one or two 
reference books or dictionaries for the explanation of terms 
which do not carry their meaning on their face. 

If this be true in regard to institutions, it must be even more 
applicable in the case of the evidences of men's beliefs and 
ideas which are left in their writings. The work of unaided in- 
terpretation is too severe for young minds, except where the 
thoughts come well within the range of their own thinking, and 
in these cases it will be necessary to prod their curiosity a little. 

What Professor Bernheim has called " tradition" is made up 

of all sorts of historical writings, and, besides, of legends, tales, 

and songs, and of paintings and sculptures. Pupils 

are never asked to extract history from legends ; 

even the trained historian can hardly do this. The historical 

picture in turn is valuable like written history ; both are repre- 



1 It is noticeable that Kendall's Source Book omits Magna Charta and 
similar documents. 



THE SOURCE METHOD 179 

sentations, one on canvas the other in words, of the painter's 
or of the author's notion of what has taken place. 

Ordinarily the editor of a source-book has sought to avoid 
the critical difficulties which surround the study of selections 
from chronicles, letters, memoirs, biographies, or selected 
anything that properly comes under the head of Sources, 
"tradition" by taking his passages from contemporaries whose 
trustworthiness has been proved. 1 These can be read as ordi- 
nary narratives without much attempt on the part of the pupils 
to sift the stories that are told. Such a source-book is hardly 
more than a supplementary reader. The method cannot be 
carried far if only writings of unquestioned accuracy are to be 
placed in the hands of the pupils. It will result in little train- 
ing unless there is some opportunity to sift statements, to weigh 
evidence, and to reach a conclusion after comparing several 
narratives. 

What are the elementary principles of criticism in accordance 
with which the pupil must ask questions of the " source "? In 
the first place, a writing does not become a real HowtoQues- 
source by being very old. A mediaeval chronicler tion a Source, 
who is describing what happened fifty years before he was born, 
is not more reliable, indeed he is far less reliable, than the 
nineteenth-century investigator who knows where this chronicler 
got his facts and has examined a great deal of evidence which 
the chronicler knew nothing about, and who, finally, has some 
notions about evidence, of any appreciation of which the 
chronicler may have been innocent. One teacher who has used 
the " source method " testifies, " It is such a pleasure to quote 
from Homer, Herodotus, or Thucydides." This pleasure springs 
largely from the strangeness and the classical halo that surrounds 
such names. In a sense Herodotus is a source ; in another 
sense he is an historian like Grote. If he did not observe with 
his own eyes the events he describes, it is necessary to go behind 

1 In a sense this would not relieve the scholar from weighing each 
statement, for even a trustworthy writer is a more or less dim medium 
through which to see the facts. 



180 THE SOURCE METHOD 

Herodotus, and examine his sources. Probably these are not 
forthcoming, but merely because we do not know where he got 
his information does not prove that his statements are correct. 1 
William of Tyre tells the story of Peter the Hermit which has 
made of that wandering priest the originator of the first crusade, 
a greater than Pope Urban II. But William of Tyre was not 
born at the time of the first crusade. And yet it took writers a 
long time to inquire how he knew so much about Peter and 
to discover that the most he did say was not true. 

After the pupil understands whether his " source " is an eye- 
witness or a contemporary, or is merely some subsequent nar- 
Interpre- rator of the tale, the next task is to determine what 
tation. ^e source actually contains. And this is not al- 

ways easy. Indeed, if an attempt be made to study some 
phase of mediaeval history, there will be whole classes of ideas 
implied in a proper interpretation of the narrative quite out of 
reach of the pupil's historical imagination. Take, for example, 
Einhard's remark that " the Saxons, like almost all the tribes of 
Germany, were a fierce people, given to the worship of devils 
and hostile to our religion. " 2 No pupil without guidance 
could discover just what Einhard meant by "devils," and yet 
Einhard is one of the simplest sources that could be put into 
the hands of pupils. Such a difficulty limits the use of the 
method. 

But quite as serious a difficulty comes from the necessity of 
sitting the statements of the narrative. Suppose this is a per- 
sonal account of the battle of Waterloo or of Gettysburg. If 
it is to be used as a source of knowledge, and not merely as an 



1 "Hence the absurd consequence that history is more positive, and 
seems better established in regard to those little-known periods which 
are represented by a single writer than in regard to facts known from 
thousands of documents which contradict each other. The wars of the 
Medes known to Herodotus alone, the adventures of Fredegonda related 
by none but Gregory of Tours, are less subject to discussion than the 
events of the French Revolution, which have been described by hundreds 
of contemporaries." Langlois and Seignobos, Introduction to the Study 
of History, 197, 198. See also 177 ff. Cf. Bernheim, 391 ff. 

2 Eginhard (Einhard), Life of Charlemagne, 26. 



THE SOURCE METHOD l8l 

exciting story, the pupil should know whether the narrator was 

on a part of the field well situated for observing the progress 

of the fight. He should also know whether the 

, . , . Sifting, 

narrator s own reputation, or the reputation of 

some person in favour of whom or against whom he had pre- 
judices, was involved in the fortunes of the day. It would not 
be wise to accept without a good deal of sifting the accounts of 
many of the struggles included in the Battles and Leaders of 
the Civil War. 

The trained historian endeavours to discover everything in the 
personal attitude of the writer whom he is studying, his sym- 
pathies, his national or party or religious preju- The Personal 
dices, his habits of observation and statement, the Ration, 
object he had in view in saying what he does, — in a word, 
everything that can affect in one way or another the compre- 
hensive truthfulness of the narrative. 1 Obviously no pupil is 
able to carry such questioning very far, and yet he must do some 
of it if he is to read only the sources that are included in such a 
book as that of Mrs. Sheldon-Barnes. Washington's letter to 
his mother after Braddock's defeat can be searched by all such 
questions, and the result will be a higher appreciation of 
Washington's character as an observer than could be gained 
were his letter simply read with no notion that it should first be 
critically weighed. 2 

Even if the pupil possess the knowledge and the critical skill 
to interpret simple narratives, he cannot reach sound conclusions 
unless he has enough documents. He is not justi- Enough 
fled in drawing an inference from the condition of Documents, 
two monasteries to the condition of the whole church. Facts 
that are already assumed may be illustrated by a single judi- 
ciously selected source, but the pupil should realize that this is 
an illustration and not a proof. 

If pupils are to be taught to ascertain the facts for themselves, 



1 For a detailed statement of the critical questions which should be 
kept in mind, see Langlois and Seignobos, 1 66 ff. 

2 Hart, Source Book of American Histo7-y, 1 03-105. 



1 82 THE SOURCE METHOD 

it is best to limit such work to those incidents in reference to 
which there exists an abundance of material. The first purpose 
A Plan of should be to arouse the pupil's curiosity by raising 
Work. some disputed point. His hunting instinct must 

be quickened. This can easily be accomplished by giving two 
or three selections from writers whose ideas of an event are 
radically different. Issue is joined, and it must be the pupil's 
task to settle the dispute. In order that he may do this, abun- 
dant excerpts should be furnished from the best sources, of dif- 
ferent kinds, bearing on the point. His work should be guided 
methodically. Finally, after he is ready to make out an opin- 
ion of what actually took place, he should have a chance to 
compare this with the conclusion of some judicially minded 
historian. Such a process can only do good so far as it can 
be practically carried out, but it demands things that are not 
always present, — documents, time, personal supervision, honest 
criticism by the teacher. 

It will be easy to find abundant material in cases where the 
interests of two peoples or of two parties are involved. The 
conduct of the British ministry before the outbreak of the Ameri- 
can Revolution may serve as an example. 

The Declaration of Independence says, " The history of the 
present king of Great Britain is a history of repeated injuries 
AniUus- an d usurpations, all having in direct object the 
tration. establishment of an absolute tyranny over these 

States." With this statement may be compared Samuel John- 
son's reply to the declaration of the Second Continental Con- 
gress which covered some of the same ground taken by the later 
more famous declaration. He said, among other things refer- 
ring to alleged acts of tryanny, " If they are condemned un- 
heard, it is because there is no need of a trial. The crime is 
manifest and notorious. ... If their assemblies have been 
suddenly dissolved, what was the reason? Their deliberations 
were indecent, and their intentions seditious." x Another 
famous Englishman, the historian Gibbon, wrote in a letter, 

1 Hart, Contemporaries, II. 446. 



THE SOURCE METHOD 1 83 

dated January 31st, 1775, " For my own part, I am more and 
more convinced that we have both the right and the power on 
our side, and that though the effort may be accompanied with 
some melancholy circumstances, we are now arrived at the de- 
cisive moment of persevering, or of losing for ever both our 
trade and our empire." * The controversy might be further 
developed by a comparison of numbers 54 and 55 in Hart's 
Source Hook, and by examining Lord Mansfield's speech on 
the right to tax. 2 Indeed it may be extended almost in- 
definitely through the use of sources made accessible in small 
collections. 

In discussing the treatment of the different kinds of sources, 
it has incidentally been urged that the study of original 
material cannot become the pupil's principal means „ 
of acquiring knowledge, and that it is chiefly use- Value of 
ful in illustrating the statements of the teacher or of ources " 
the text-book. Occasionally also it is possible to arrange ele- 
mentary investigations, not in order to " make historians, but to 
teach children to select the essentials from a mass, and to train 
the judgment." 3 

It is contended by the advocates of a more extended use 

of the source method that even if the results of the pupil's 

study of the sources are unsatisfactory from the _ 

' J Source 

scholar's point of view, these results compare favor- Method vs. 
ably with what is accomplished by the text-book ex " 00 s ' 
method. " In the one case the acquisition of knowledge is 
almost sure to be a memory process, while in the other there 
must be some exercise of the other faculties . . . the source 



1 Kendall, Source Book, 354. 

2 Lee, Source Book, 477 ff. 

3 Professor A. B. Hart, at the conference on entrance requirements, 
New England Association of Colleges and Preparatory Schools, 1895. 
In his American History told by Contemporaries, Professor Hart also says : 
" Pupils cannot be expected to found their knowledge of history on 
sources, because they have not the judgment to distinguish between the 
different kinds of material." I. 19. Professor Lavisse has said : "Very 
few documents are accessible to the intelligence of the pupil." A propos 
de nos E coles, 104. 



1 84 THE SOURCE METHOD 

book forces both teacher and pupil to work . . . the teacher 
cannot be a mere recitation hearer." * But this argument is 
equally strong in support of the merely illustrative use of 
sources; indeed, it is stronger, for it is hardly clear that the 
teacher who puts the text-book to bad use will wisely direct the 
study of the sources, and all the difficulties which beset the 
proper study of the sources are enhanced if this work is at- 
tempted by ignorant or unwilling teachers. 

The ardent advocates of the source method occasionally 
forget how much can be accomplished by a capable teacher 
Without w i tn nothing but a text-book to work with, and 
Sources. sometimes without even this. Although not all 

reports of German instruction in history are favourable, it is 
evident that occasionally a teacher is found who makes the 
subject fascinating with no help save from the meagre Leit- 
faden. Teaching history is, after all, a work of interpretation. 
Its aim is to reveal to the pupils a world of which they possess 
only scattered and vague impressions. The pupils cannot 
discover this world themselves, they can be led into it by the 
teacher alone ; and the source method is only one means 
which the teacher may use to perform the task successfully. 

The over-emphasis of the source method also leads to the 
neglect of other ways of cultivating an interest in history and 
Historical °f training the pupil to think soundly upon histor- 
Reading. j ca j subjects. It rests partly on the assumption 

that there is an educational benefit which comes, for example, 
from reading Livy's account of the Punic Wars, which cannot 
be derived from reading Mommsen's description, although 
Livy no more observed the vicissitudes of that struggle than 
did Mommsen. It rests also on the crude philosophy that the 
facts of history are something so plain and definite that the 
child who knows how to read can discover what has taken 
place. The contrary of this is true. It required a Niebuhr 
to reveal the Roman world to modern gaze, and few men have 
been so taught by experience, or possess the original penetrat- 

1 Fling and Caldwell, Studies in History, p. 297. 



THE SOURCE METHOD 1 85 

ing glance of genius, to enable them to more than feebly follow 
in his footsteps. The shortest route to the historical attitude 
of mind is therefore not the source method, — although this 
may be a means ; it is by reading the great masters of historical 
interpretation, the creators of modern historical literature. 

It is now necessary to sum up briefly the conclusions which 
have been reached in this discussion. Even those who have 

criticised severely the attempt to make a large use 
. . . .... , . Conclusions. 

of the sources in teaching history have never ob- 
jected to the use of judiciously selected original material as 
reading supplementary to the text-book. In the elementary 
school, as well as in the high school, pupils may be given all 
the sources of this sort which they have time to read. But 
this is not, strictly speaking, the source method. 

Below the secondary school, the use of the sources must be 
even more incidental than it may become in the secondary 
school. The selections must be adapted to the Elementary 
pupil's knowledge and experience. 1 A few simple School, 
questions for investigation may be arranged. For example, 
the pupil may be sent to Columbus' diary to learn where 
Columbus thought the island he had discovered was situated, 
or to the letter of the Venetian Lorenzo Pasqualigo to find out 
where it was believed that John Cabot had landed. 2 Such 
work will preserve the balance of activities in the child's mind, 
keep him from listlessness, give him confidence, and stimulate 
him to search for other equally "queer" ways that men of 
long ago had of looking at the world. The older pupils may 
also be given occasional lessons in criticism. They could 



1 See Mrs. Sheldon-Barnes' observations on the development of the 
child's powers in her Studies in Historical Method, 100 ff. 

2 Columbus wrote, October 13th, " But in order to lose no time, I am 
now going to try if I can find the island of Cipango." Hart, American 
History told by Contemporaries, I. p. 38. Pasqualigo wrote, 23rd August, 
1497. " Our Venetian, who went with a small ship from Bristol to find 
new islands, has come back, and says he has discovered, 700 leagues off, 
the mainland of the country of the Gran Cam" (Tartary, i.e. China). 
Ibid., p. 69. 



1 86 THE SOURCE METHOD 

compare the account of the battle of Gettysburg taken from 
the Tribune and printed in Professor Hart's Source Book with 
an equally detailed statement from Rhodes' History of the 
United States, and could sum up the reporter's blunders. Such 
work would afford a useful opportunity to teach them some of 
the elementary principles of evidence, and to awaken a health- 
ful scepticism of ill-founded stories. 

Most of the work in the high school must necessarily follow 
the same lines, making use of the increasing capacity of the 
Secondary pupils to interpret what they read and to draw 
School. sound inferences from it. In the high school a 

more serious attempt can occasionally be made to teach the 
pupils how to get at facts which lie in documents and narratives 
partly covered over by the ignorance, the prejudices, or the 
primitive ideas of the writer. And yet the limitations which 
beset work of this sort should prevent it from being more than 
the occasional work of the class, which may be made to serve 
the double purpose of an exercise in writing good English and 
study in elementary investigation. 

It must not be forgotten that the most important opportunity 
to instruct the pupils of the secondary school how to interpret 
Classical tne sources belongs to the classical teacher in 

Teacher. directing the study of Caesar and Xenophon, of 

Sallust and Cicero, and even of Homer and Virgil. Unhappily 
this opportunity is often lost sight of in the eager search for 
subjunctives and in tracing out the sequence of tenses. 

If sources are to be used in connection with a text-book, 
their study should follow rather than precede the consideration 
With the of the account in the text-book, for, usually, the 
Text-book. pupil does not know enough about the subject to 
enable him to interpret his sources correctly. There may be 
exceptions to this rule. Dr. Schilling, the author of a German 
collection of sources on modern history, believes the study of 
the sources should come first. It will be found, however, in 
practice, that the documents or narratives to which the pupil 
is sent after his lesson in the text-book deal with matters of 



THE SOURCE METHOD 1 87 

detail^ so that he will not carry to them ready-made conclusions. 
His previously acquired stock of knowledge will simply help 
him to reach a conclusion. 

The results of this more special study should be put in the 
note-book, so that it may be the basis of discussion during the 
following recitation. At first the pupils will hardly 
understand how to record their results, but a little 
direction will help them over the difficulty. Exact references 
should also be made to the documents or records upon which 
the note is based. 

Those who hold that the source book should be the chief, 
if not the only, text-book explain that after these notes have 
been made, the pupil should construct an outline of what he 
has learned, and that he should then write a " little history," 
or continuous narrative of the events he is investigating. 1 

It is evident that the growing favour with which some use of 
this method is received emphasizes the need of teachers trained 
especially for work in history. Possibly there may be a still 
greater need of teachers who will not turn the method into a 
fetish, as formerly teachers treated drill in the forms and 
structure of Greek and Latin. 2 



1 H. W. Caldwell, Report of the National Educational Association, 
1897, pp. 670 ff. 

2 Descriptions of the most available collections of selected source 
material will be found in the bibliographies for the several fields of his- 
tory. A report of the New England History Teachers' Association 
will include a full descriptive statement of sources available in English. 



PART II 

THE COURSE OF STUDY 



INTRODUCTORY NOTE. 

The following chapters offer suggestions on the several fields of history 
from ancient to modern times. Ancient history is treated in three 
chapters, the first presenting general considerations on the whole field 
as well as a brief treatment of the oriental peoples. This is followed 
by chapters on Greece and Rome. For reasons that are stated in the 
chapter itself, the limits of the Mediaeval history are 395 A. D. to about 
1560. Instead of continuing the treatment in the usual form of general 
history, an alternate scheme is presented in Chapter XVI, but in Chapter 
XVII, which treats chiefly European history from 1774 to 1896, there are 
explanations showing how the work in general history may be continued 
without following the scheme in Chapter XVI. 

It is not the intention to mark out rigid courses of study. The work 
for the secondary school is considered first, because for such pupils the 
question of the matter is relatively more important than it is with the 
pupils of the elementary school. With these the adaptation of the mat- 
ter to their capacity and experience is the chief factor. 

These chapters are not essays on the different fields, but merely sug- 
gestions of points of view which should not be lost sight of. Brief topi- 
cal summaries are added in order that the line of thought may be more 
definitely marked out. Bibliographical notes are given only where it 
seemed necessary. The works referred to are all in the English language. 



CHAPTER XII 

ANCIENT HISTORY 

BIBLIOGRAPHY. 

Cunningham, W. An Essay on Western Civilization in its Economic 
Aspects. Cambridge, University Press. 2 vols. New York, The Mac- 
millan Co. 

Duncker, Max. The History of Antiquity. 6 vols. London, Bentley 
& Son. The best general history of ancient peoples in any language. 

Kent, C. F. History of the Hebrew People. 2 vols. New York, 
Charles Scribner's Sons. 

Kent, C. F. and Riggs, J. S. History of the Jewish People. 2 vols. 
New York, Charles Scribner's Sons. London, Smith, Elder & Co. 

Kittel, R. History of the Hebrews. 2 vols. London, Williams & 
Norgate. New York, Charles Scribner's Sons. 

Maspero, G. The Dawn of Civilization. London, S. P. C. K. New 
York, D. Appleton & Co. 

Maspero, G, The Struggle of the Nations. London, S. P. C. K- 
New York, D. Appleton & Co. 

Petrie, W. M. Flinders. The History of Egypt from the Earliest 
Times to the Sixteenth Dynasty. 6 vols. London, Methuen & Co. 
New York, Charles Scribner's Sons. 

Rawlinson, George. Five Great Monarchies. 3 vols. London, John 
Murray. Ancient Monarchies. 5 vols. New York, Dodd, Mead & Co. 
Embodies older views of disputed matters. 

Rawlinson, George. The History of Egypt. 2 vols. London, Long- 
mans, Green & Co. New York, Dodd, Mead & Co. 

Rawlinson, George. Phoenicia. (The Story of the Nations.) New 
York, G. P. Putnam's Sons. 

Schrader, O. Prehistoric Antiquities of the Aryan People : A Manual 
of Comparative Philology and the Earliest Culture. Translated by F. B. 
Jevons. London, Griffin & Co. New York, Charles Scribner's Sons. 

The series entitled The Story of the Nations has volumes on Egypt, 
Chaldea, Persia, etc. New York, Putnam's Sons. These are of un- 
equal value. See also list for Greece and for Rome. 

For maps and atlases, see bibliography for Greek History. 

It has already been argued that the programme of historical 
teaching be comprehensive, and include what is commonly 



192 ANCIENT HISTORY 

called general or universal history. This does not necessarily 
call for a treatment of all races in every period. The world 
into which the child is to be introduced by instruction has 
been affected only to a slight degree by certain peoples. 
They left no heritage of religion, literature, or law upon the 
basis of which modern European civilization has been con- 
structed. Their story need not be told in the school. 

On this subject there is difference of opinion. A few writers 
of text-books give accounts of China and of India, apparently 
China and because they are writing on " universal " history. 
India. These accounts they include in their narratives of 

ancient history, although few of the Greeks or the Romans 
knew of the existence of China, nor did they know much about 
India even after Alexander's expedition. These countries ex- 
ercised little or no influence upon Europe until the discovery 
of a sea route to India and to China carried the trader into the 
eastern seas. Even then the influence was not direct, but 
simply through the stimulus given to trade. Brief historical 
explanations may be made at this point, but it is a distorted 
ideal of comprehensiveness which would compel much attention 
to Asiatic history. 1 

There are a few oriental peoples which deeply influenced the 
future of Europe. These are the Egyptians, the Phoenicians, 
the Hebrews, and the kingdoms along the Tigris and the 
Euphrates. 

The position of the more barbarous peoples should not al- 
together be ignored, for this serves to bring out more clearly 
the place occupied by the historical races, and among these 
historical races by the Europeans. Brief explanations should 
be made at the opening of the course on ancient history, so 
that the pupil may keep in mind the bounds of the field of 
study. 



1 Professor G. B. Adams marks out the " Field of History " as fol- 
lows : " That portion of the history of the whole world in which we are 
especially interested is the history of those nations which in successive 
stages have created the civilization we enjoy." European History, p, I. 



ANCIENT HISTORY 1 93 

Topics for the study of races : historical races, Aryan, Semitic, 
Turanian. Subdivisions of these : Aryan or Indo-European, 1 
spread of this family in ancient, and, by contrast, in modern 
times ; a list of the branches that were destined to become 
historic, which may be referred to at proper points in the de- 
velopment of the subject, for example, in studying about the 
Persians, the Greeks, the Romans, etc. ; argument from lan- 
guage for the common descent of the different branches of the 
Aryan family, illustrate by showing relationships of Americans of 
English descent to the Germans, the Dutch, etc. 2 The treat- 
ment of the Semites is less complicated, for there are only three 
historical races, the Hebrews, the Phoenicians, and the Arabs. 
The Turanians come in incidentally, but affect history pro- 
foundly : minor branches, — Finns, Lapps, etc.; prominent 
branches, — Magyars or Hungarians, Bulgars, Turks. Note 
that the Magyars are thoroughly European in religion and in- 
stitutions, while the Turks are still Asiatic. Other branches of 
the Turanian family, the Mongolian, etc., do not affect Europe 
until late. 

Subdivision of race accordi?ig to physical appearance : Cau- 
casian or White ; Mongolian or Yellow ; Ethiopic or Negro. 
Comparing this division with the other, it is the Caucasian which 
is chiefly historical. Such a survey, done simply, using illus- 
trations from the facts which the pupil has already studied in 
geography and with which he is familiar through his own ex- 
perience, will give him a clear impression of what are the race 
limits of the field of history. 

The field of history is also limited in time. Prehistoric man 
is left to the ethnologist. Children are much interested in the 
relics of this mysterious past, but they should be Prehistoric 
taught that history is concerned with man only after TimQS - 
he has succeeded in creating a highly organized society, and 
after he has become conscious of himself, so that he records his 
achievements. 

The historian is interested only in events that lead somewhere 



1 The theory that the original home of the Indo-Europeans was in 
central Asia has been superseded by the theory that they originated in 
northern Europe. 

2 Adams, op. cit. 3, for example. See also Fisher, Brief History of 
the Nations > for Table of Languages, pp. 7-8. 

13 



194 ANCIENT HISTORY 

and are the beginnings of greater things. Brief explanations 
of prehistoric remains, either as an introduction to the whole 
subject, or as each country is taken up, will serve to emphasize 
the time when history began. It is obvious that the prehistoric 
period ends at widely different times in different parts of the 
earth. Greece stands in the full blaze of civilization when 
Rome is still practically in the prehistoric age, and the Germans 
are prehistoric men when the Romans are reading Virgil or 
listening to Cicero. 

The first period of historical time is called Ancient history. 
Its beginnings lie far back in the mists surrounding the early 
Close of An- Egyptian monarchy ; its end came with the downfall 
cient Times. f the fabric of Roman society. There is less un- 
certainty about the beginning than about the end, for meagre- 
ness of knowledge prevents the beginning from being pushed back 
indefinitely, but it is doubtful where the ancient order passes 
over into the mediaeval society. The influence of Rome was 
so permanent that there is ground for saying, with Freeman, that 
no line of division can be marked out. 1 And yet a time did 
come when many things which were characteristic of Roman 
civilization had disappeared, when the imperial administration 
had utterly broken down in the west under the attacks of the 

1 Essays. The mediaeval method of dividing history into periods is a 
striking evidence of the same thing. For this see p. 8. Even the Ger- 
mans who overthrew the Empire did not realize what they were doing. 
Bryce remarks : " The Mongol Attila excepted, there is among these 
terrible hosts no destroyer ; the wish of each leader is to maintain the 
existing order . . . above all, to . . . rule the people as the deputy and 
successor of their Emperor. Titles conferred by him were the greatest 
honours they knew. . . . Clovis exulted in the consulship." Pp. 17-18. 
He adds : " It is hardly too much to say that the thought of antagonism 
to the Empire and the wish to extinguish it never crossed the mind of 
the barbarians. The conception of the Empire was too universal, too 
august, too enduring. It was everywhere around them ... it had that 
connection with the Christian Church which made it all embracing and 
venerable." Pp. 19, 20. Nominally the Roman Empire lived on until 
1806, first by union of Charlemagne's Frankish kingdom and Italy, then 
by the union of Germany and Italy brought about by Otto the Great, 
and lastly as hardly more than a German confederation. Still the name 
offers emphatic testimony to the strength of the Roman tradition. 



ANCIENT HISTORY 195 

Germans, when the rule of the powerful had been substituted 
for the reign of law, when the great cities fell into ruin and their 
population vanished, when intellectual work became feeble and 
crude, and men's minds were concentrated upon religious 
problems alone. This time came somewhere between 378 a. d. 
and 600. Perhaps the most convenient date to fix upon is 
395, for shortly after that Alaric begins his destructive march 
through Greece to Italy, and other German leaders, taking ad- 
vantage of his attacks, break across the frontier. It was formerly 
customary to bring ancient history to a close in 476 with what 
was called the " Fall of the Roman Empire." Against such a 
division is the fact that although the deposition of Romulus 
Augustulus had important consequences, it did not possess the 
significance that has been popularly attributed to it. As Pro- 
fessor Bryce explains, " There was legally no extinction of the 
Western Empire at all, but only a reunion of east and west. 
In form and to some extent also in the belief of men, things 
reverted to their state during the first two centuries of the Em- 
pire, save that Byzantium instead of Rome was the centre of 
the civil government." 1 

The Committee of Seven has argued that the further history 
of Europe until the coronation or the death of Charlemagne be 
taught as a part of ancient history rather than as the beginnings 
of the Middle Ages. 2 This division has been gaining ground 



1 The Holy Roman Empire, 26. Professor G. B. Adams further re- 
marks : " Odovakar ruled the Germans who were in Italy as their king, 
and he was at the head of a practically independent kingdom, but he did 
not understand that fact as clearly as we do, and, in the theory of the 
time, he was still commanding a Roman army and guarding a Roman 
province under the emperor." Civilization during the Middle Ages, 73. 

2 This, says the Report, " secures an equitable adjustment of time, 
and a reasonable distribution of emphasis between the earlier and the 
later periods. If the pupil stops his historical work at the end of the 
first year, it is desirable that he should not look upon classical history 
as a thing apart, but that he should be brought to see something of what 
followed the so-called ' fall ' of the Western Empire. Moreover, it is 
difficult to find a logical stopping-place at an earlier date ; one cannot 
end with the introduction of Christianity, or with the Germanic invasions, 
or with the rise of Mohammedanism ; and to break off with the year 476 



196 ANCIENT HISTORY 

in the schools and with text-book makers, and yet it appears 
of doubtful expediency. There is some danger that if the sub- 
ject is so divided the pupil will lose sight of the fundamental 
changes which took place during the Barbarian Invasions. 
Furthermore, the addition of another period will necessarily 
shorten the time given to the treatment of the Empire. On the 
whole, there is good reason to believe that the year 395 offers 
a convenient place at which ancient history may be brought to 
a close. 

Ancient history has generally been taught as Greek and 
Roman history, and often as incidental to the study of Greek 
The Ancient a °d Latin. If this be the chief impulse to its study, 
World. there is danger of a neglect of some phases which 

are important from an historical point of view. This accounts 
for the comparatively slight emphasis placed upon the Greek 
colonies and upon the spread of Hellenic civilization after the 
conquests of Alexander the Great. Greece appears an isolated 
spot of light surrounded by vague forms, if not by utter dark- 
ness. The same influence has cut short the history of Rome 
with the battle of Actium or the death of Augustus. 

It is the ancient world that the teacher must explain, not 
simply the brilliant career of either Greece or the Roman 
Republic. That world centred about the Mediterranean, and 
every fact has significance which explains how civilization was 
steadily pushed along the shores of this sea and how it gradually 
made its way inland. The idea of continuity should dominate 
the treatment of the material. Unfortunately little has come 
down to us in regard to some phases of this process, — the early 
history of the Phoenician and of the Greek colonies, for example, 
— but such knowledge as we possess should be used to give the 
impression of continuity in the development of ancient civiliza- 
tion. This will not keep the teacher from concentrating atten- 
tion chiefly upon those phases of the story which naturally are 
most interesting, and which are also useful in explaining the 

is to leave the pupil in a world of confusion, — the invasions only begun, 
the church not fully organized, the Empire not wholly 'fallen.' " P. 58. 



ANCIENT HISTORY 197 

circumstances in the midst of which Greek and Roman litera- 
ture was created. 

The history of Egypt gives the impression of the antiquity of 
civilization, and this fact should control the management of 
the subject. 1 The pupils should not remember the 
names of the Egyptian kings, save one or two like 
Ramses II., nor should they remember the details of Egyptian 
conquests. Such efforts are as unnecessary as they are fruitless. 
Conquests which left no impression upon the later map of 
Europe need not interest children. 

Topics : influence of the Nile ; antiquity of Egyptian civiliza- 
tion ; sources of knowledge of Egyptian history ; hieroglyphs. 
Meaning of dynasties ; situation of Memphis, the seat of the 
Old Empire ; pyramids at Gizeh. Thebes, the seat of the 
Middle Empire and of the New Empire ; temple of Amnion at 
Thebes, temple of the sun at Heliopolis, Lake Mceris, con- 
structed under the Middle Empire ; the Shepherd kings ; war- 
like kings of New Empire, particularly Ramses II., possibly 
the Pharaoh of the oppression of the Hebrews ; buildings at 
Karnak and Luxor. Characteristics of Egyptian religion and 
of Egyptian arts. Treatment of the dead. Relation between 
Egypt and Assyria ; relations with the Greeks, particularly after 
the time of Psammetichus ; becomes a Persian province (525). 
The distinctions between the different "Empires" need not 
be insisted on, for they have little meaning for the pupil. The 
teacher may keep it in mind as a convenient means of marking 
the comparative antiquity of the great buildings. 2 



1 According to the Committee of Seven the survey of oriental history 
should be completed in not more than one-eighth of the time allotted to 
ancient history. " It should aim to give (a) an idea of the remoteness of 
oriental beginnings, of the length and reach of recorded history; (b) a 
definite knowledge of the names, location, and chronological succession 
of the early oriental nations ; (c) the distinguishing features of their 
civilizations, as concretely as possible ; (d) the recognizable lines of their 
influence on later times." Study of History, 55. 

2 History of Egyptian Art, by Perrot and Chipiez, 2 vols., full of pic- 
tures. Egyptian architecture is also illustrated in the Perry Pictures and 
in the Helman-Taylor Pictures. For the relation between Egypt and 
Greece, Holm, History of Greece, I. 91 ff., Abbott, History of Greece, I. 
55-56. Sheldon's Studies in General History gives a few extracts from 



198 ANCIENT HISTORY 

Assyria and Babylon are interesting particularly for the bear- 
ing they have upon Hebrew history. It should be sufficient to 
Assyria and describe the characteristics of the Tigris- Euphrates 
Babylon. plain, to contrast its ancient wealth with its present 
desolation, to exhibit its civilization through pictures of the 
monuments which have survived, and to point out the connec- 
tion with Hebrew history. 

Greek legends ofNinus and Semiramis ; distinction between 
the older Babylonian kingdom, Assyria, the later Babylon ; 
locate Nineveh and Babylon ; extent of dominion of each at 
height of power ; Sargon captures Samaria (722), causing "cap- 
tivity of the Ten Tribes " ; Sennacherib's siege of Jerusalem 
and the biblical narrative ; fall of Nineveh (606) ; Greek tale 
of Sardanapalus. Babylon under Nebuchadnezzar ; capture of 
Jerusalem, beginning of Babylonian captivity (586^ ; conquest 
of Tyre (574) ; Cyrus captures Babylon (538). 1 



the sources illustrating Egyptian civilization, for example, an extract 
from the " Book of the Dead," p. 10, from a hymn to the Nile, of the 
time of Ramses II., p. 12, inscriptions about Ramses, p. 14. These selec- 
tions may be written on the board. A few of them will require explana- 
tions which are not contained in the ordinary text-book, and without 
which the pupil will be puzzled rather than enlightened. 

1 History of Chaldean and Assyrian Art, Perrot and Chipiez, 2 vols. 
A judicious selection of passages from the prophets who were contem- 
porary with the later career of Assyria and Babylon will greatly enliven 
the interest of the pupil, because such selections are sources in the strict 
sense of the term. The prophets were actors in the great drama of ori- 
ental history. Professor Fisher, in his Universal History, p. 50, has 
pointed out a number of pertinent passages. In reference to the fall of 
Nineveh, he quotes from Nahum : " The chariots shall rage in the 
streets, they shall jostle against one another in the broad ways." " Take 
ye spoil of silver, take the spoil of gold : for there is none end of the 
store and glory out of all the pleasant furniture." In reference to Baby- 
lon he quotes from Isaiah : "Babylon, the glory of kingdoms, the beauty 
of the Chaldee's excellency . . . shall never be inhabited ;" "neither shall 
the Arabian pitch tent there; neither shall the shepherds make their 
fold there." " Wild beasts of the desert shall lie there," " owls shall 
dwell there." The underworld is astonished at the coming of the king 
of Babylon to the abode of the dead. The great dead accost him, " Art 
thou also become as weak as we ? " " Thy pomp is brought down to the 
grave." They ask scornfully, " Is this the man that made the earth 
tremble, that did shake kingdoms ? " 



ANCIENT HISTORY 199 

There is peculiar difficulty in dealing with Hebrew history 
because of its close religious associations. Many names about 
which cluster strong religious traditions are more 
familiar than the names of Pericles or of Caesar, but 
it is impossible to teach the story of Abraham or of Moses as 
one would explain Caesar's exploits. The child, however, con- 
fuses familiarity with historical certitude. There is the further 
difficulty that the whole theory of Hebrew history is being re- 
constructed, so that only a few external facts can be taught 
without entering the field of serious controversy. The easiest 
solution of the problem would be to omit any consideration of 
the subject, but Hebrew history is certainly as important as the 
history of Assyria and of Babylon, and it would be strange to 
omit in a course on general history all consideration of the peo- 
ple to whom modern Europe owes its religious ideas and many 
of its principles of conduct. Furthermore, no literature is richer 
than the Bible in tales which portray in simple but clear out- 
line all those phases of experience which bear upon the devel- 
opment of character, and it is an incomparable opportunity lost 
when the child's imagination and his impulses to action have 
not been touched by a study of this great panorama. The Ger- 
mans teach the Old Testament history in connection with the 
instruction in u Religion," but their aim is not so much historical 
as religious. 

The following topics on Hebrew history suggest an indispen- 
sable minimum : Hebrew ideas as to the origin of their people 
and how they were settled in Canaan ; contrast between char- 
acteristics of Hebrew religion and religions of other ancient 
oriental peoples ; organization of a kingdom under Saul and 
David ; Solomon, the temple, relation to Tyre ; division of the 
kingdom ; destruction of the northern kingdom ; capture of 
Jerusalem and the Captivity ; period of the return ; final con- 
quest by the Romans. 

The importance of Phoenicia is often unrecognised, because 
so little is known about the continuous growth of Tyre and 
Sidon that there is scarcely any nucleus of ordinary historical 



200 ANCIENT HISTORY 

incident to which to attach the descriptive facts of Phoeni- 
cian life. The Phoenicians were the first of the ancient peoples 
to spread their civilization over the sea to distant 
shores. They were compelled to become mariners 
because their land, between Mount Lebanon and the Mediter- 
ranean, was too narrow to support the large population, es- 
pecially after the downfall of the Hittite empire and after the 
Hebrews had driven many of the Canaanites to the coast. 
Their land was the natural home of sailors, just as later were 
Portugal and Holland. To realize the extent of their influence, 
it is necessary to study the geography of their colonies and 
trading-stations, and to remember that Carthage carried on the 
work of Sidon and Tyre in the western Mediterranean. This 
Phoenician influence was exerted either in the east or the west 
for nearly a thousand years. They did not create so much as 
adapt what they had learned from others, but under the circum- 
stances such a work was quite as important. 

There is some difference of opinion in regard to the impor- 
tance of their influence upon the Greeks. Holm declares that 
the Greeks received from them nothing of importance except 
the alphabet. But it is evident that as traders and colonizers 
they brought the scattered peoples of the ancient world together, 
and thus furthered the development of its civilization. With 
the rise of Greek sea power in the eighth century the impor- 
tance of the Phoenician cities begins to decrease, but the settle- 
ment at Carthage created a centre for Phoenician influence in 
the west which endured until nearly two centuries after Tyre 
was destroyed by Alexander the Great. Carthage was Rome's 
great antagonist, and her history becomes known largely through 
the conflict with Rome. 



Topics for Phoenicia and Carthage : situation of Phoenicia, 
second founding of Tyre 1028 ; Tyrian dyes; Phoenician trade 
routes ; settlements in Cyprus, in Greece, and on the shores 
of the JEge&n Archipelago ; settlement at Gades (Tarshish) ; 
founding of Carthage, 814 ; story of Hanno's voyage around 
Africa. Conquest of Tyre by Nebuchadnezzar ; destruction of 



ANCIENT HISTORY 201 

Tyre by Alexander (332) ; Carthage as the rival of the Greeks 
in Sicily ; Carthage as the rival of Rome j extent of the Cartha- 
ginian empire ; Punic wars and destruction of Carthage (146). 
In the twenty-seventh chapter of Ezekiel there is a graphic 
description of the wealth and activity of Tyre. 

There is so close a connection between the Persians and the 
Greeks that even pupils who have not been accustomed to 
study ancient history as a whole have become 
familiar with the names of Cyrus, Cambyses, Darius, ersia * 
and Xerxes. The lateness of Persian history brings it down 
beyond the period of earlier Greek history, so that a knowledge 
of each is necessary for the understanding of the other, just as 
the lateness of Carthaginian history implies much of the history 
of Greece and of Rome. This situation has its dangers. 
Pupils are often able to pass up and down several chronological 
series, the incidents of which they relate without feeling the 
connection. Consequently, if Persian history is treated sepa- 
rately before Greek history, it must be reviewed in connection 
with the wars and with the efforts of the Delian League to clear 
the Persians out of the ^Egean and western Asia Minor. 

Topics for Persian history : distinction between Medes and 
Persians ; Zoroaster and the Persian religion ; Cyrus and his 
conquests ; Cambyses and the Greek colonies in Asia Minor ; 
story of Crcesus ; Darius ; extent of his rule ; organization of 
the Persian kingdom; decay of power; overthrow of the 
Persians by Alexander. 



CHAPTER XIII 
GREEK HISTORY 

BIBLIOGRAPHY. 

Larger General Works : — 

Abbott, Evelyn. A History of Greece. 3 vols. London, Longmans, 
Green & Co. New York, G. P. Putnam's Sons. 

Curtius, E. History of Greece. 5 vols. London, John Murray. 
New York, Charles Scribner's Sons. 

Duncker, M. History of Greece. 2 vols. London, R. Bentley & Sons. 

Grote, George. History of Greece. 12 vols. London, John Mur- 
ray. New York, Harper & Bros. 

Holm, A. History of Greece. 4 vols. New York, The Macmillan 
Co. 

Smaller General Works : — 

Botsford, G. W. A History of Greece. London and New York, 
Macmillan. 

Oman, C. W. C. A History of Greece to the death of Alexander the 
Great. London and New York, Longmans, Green & Co. 

Special Works : — 

Abbott, E. Pericles. (Heroes of Nations.) London and New 
York, G. P. Putnam's Sons. 

Botsford, G. W. Development of the Athenian Constitution. Lon- 
don and New York, Macmillan. 

Coulanges, F. de. The Ancient City. Translated by W. Small. 
Boston, Lee & Shepard. 

Fowler, H. IN. History of Greek Literature. New York, D. Apple- 
ton & Co. 

Fowler, W. W. The City-State of the Greeks and Romans. Lon- 
don and New York, Macmillan. 

Freeman, E. A. History of Sicily. 4 vols. Oxford University Press. 
Story of Sicily. (Stories of Nations.) New York, Putnam. Historical 
Geography of Europe. 2 vols. London, Longmans, Green & Co. (Out 
of print.) 

Gardner, E. A. Handbook of Greek Sculpture. London and New 
York, Macmillan. 

Gilbert, G. Constitutional Antiquities of Sparta and Athens. Lon- 
don, S. Sonnenschein & Co. New York, The Macmillan Co. 



GREEK HISTORY 203 

Greenidge, A. H. J. Handbook of Greek Constitutional History. 
London and New York, Macmillan. 

Jebb, R. C. Primer of Greek Literature. London, The Macmillan 
Co. New York, American Book Co. 

Mahaffy, J. P. History of Classical Greek Literature. 2 vols. Lon- 
don and New York, Macmillan. Alexander's Empire. (Stories of Na- 
tions.) London, T. F. Unwin. New York, G. P. Putnam's Sons. Social 
Life in Greece. London and New York, Macmillan. Survey of Greek 
Civilization. London and New York, Macmillan. 

Tozer, H. F. Primer of Classical Geography. London, Macmillan & Co. 
New York, American Book Co. 

Tsountas, C, and Manatt, J. J. The Mycenean Age. London, Mac- 
millan & Co. Boston, Houghton, Mifflin & Co. 

Tarbell, F. B. History of Greek Art. London and New York, 
Macmillan. 

Maps and Atlases : — 

Kiepert, Henry. New Wall Maps of Ancient History. American 
Agents, Rand, McNally & Co., of Chicago and New York. Of the series 
of eight maps the following are of special use in Greek History : An- 
cient World, Asia Minor, Greece, Empires of the Persians and of Alex- 
ander the Great. Size from 74 to 79 by 39 to 60 inches. 

Kampen. Classical Maps. The one on Greece is slightly smaller 
than the Kiepert, and costs less. Rand, McNally & Co. 

MacCoun, Townsend. Historical Geography Charts of Europe: 
Ancient and Classical. New York, Silver, Burdett & Co. 

(It is well to have a physical map for the study of topography.) There 
are Kiepert's Physical "Outline" Maps, Rand, McNally & Co.; also 
the Sydow-Habenicht Physical Wall Maps, somewhat larger. Same 
agents. 

Kiepert, H. Atlas Antiquus. Twelve Maps of the Ancient World, 
Am. ed. Boston, B. H. Sanborn. Generally regarded as the best. 

Ginn's Classical Atlas. Boston, Ginn & Co. 

Longmans' Classical Atlas. London and New York, Longmans, 
Green & Co. 

(In the various atlases are maps referring to ancient times.) 

Droysen, G. Allgemeiner historischer Handatlas. Leipzig, Velha- 
gen and Klasing. 

Labberton, R. H. Historical Atlas, 3800 b. c. to 1886 a. d. New 
York, Silver, Burdett & Co. 

Kiepert and "Wolf. Historischer Schul-Atlas zur alten, mittleren 
und neueren Geschichte. 7th ed. Berlin, Reimer. 

Putzger, F. W. Historischer Schul-Atlas zur alten, mittleren und 
neueren Geschichte. 25th ed. Leipzig, Velhagen and Klasing. "The 
best small atlas of European history." 1 

Schrader, F. Atlas de Geographie historique. Paris, Hachette, 

1 Report of Committee of Seven. 



204 GREEK HISTORY 

Selected Sources : — 

Fling, F. M. European History Studies. In Vol. I., five nos. Chi- 
cago, Ainsworth & Co. 

Sheldon-Barnes, Mary D. In her Studies in General History. Bos- 
ton, D. C. Heath & Co. 
Sources in translations of Greek ivriters : — 

iEschylus, translated by Plumptre. London and New York, George 
Routledge & Sons. A translation by Robert Potter in Morley's Univer- 
sal Library. 

Aristophanes, translated by Frere. Morley's Universal Library. New 
York, G. Routledge & Sons. 

Aristotle. On the Constitution of Athens, translated by F. C. Kenyon. 
London, George Bell & Sons. New York, The Macmillan Co. 

Demosthenes. Olynthiacs, Philippics, etc., translated by Kennedy. 
Bonn's Library. On the Crown. Same Library. 

Herodotus, translated by Macaulay. 2 vols. New York, The Mac- 
millan Co. A translation by G. Rawlinson in 4 vols., also same text 
without notes in 2 vols. New York, Charles Scribner's Sons. 

Homer, see Chapter VIII. 

Thucydides, ibid. 

Plutarch, translated by Stewart and Long. 4 vols. New York, The 
Macmillan Co. Many other versions. 

Guide : — 

Goodrich, A. L. Topics on Greek History. London and New York, 
Macmillan. 

For additional titles, see Botsford's History of Greece, Goodrich's 
Topics, Mayor's Guide. 

The two principal forces which made for the unification of 
the ancient world were Greek culture and Roman administra- 
Significance tion. It is consequently important in teaching the 
of Greece. history of Greece to emphasize those things which 
were peculiarly characteristic of its career, rather than to burden 
the memory of the pupils with many details of its petty wars. * If 

1 Professor Seignobos, in his text-book on La Grece ancienne, has 
carried out this idea in radical fashion. Out of a total of five hundred 
and fifty-nine pages, he has devoted at least two hundred to general 
subjects like the legends, the gods, religious customs, commerce, and the 
arts. Much of this matter is put in the early part of his book, with the 
result that the pupil receives an impression of unity of race which does 
not disappear during the study of city jealousies and conflicts. The same 
result is facilitated by reducing the story of the Peloponnesian war 
to reasonable limits ; he gives it only thirty-six pages. 

Botsford's History of Greece embodies a similar plan, although the de- 



GREEK HISTORY 205 

their attention is directed too exclusively to the political rival- 
ries of the various cities — Athens, Sparta, Thebes — they will 
look upon Greek history as a number of distinct histories and 
will not feel the unity of Greek life. Such mistakes may be 
avoided by a wise selection and arrangement of the material. 

It cannot be expected that every school will adequately study 
each of the long list of topics that bear upon the life and cus- 
toms, the art and the religion of the Greeks, for the length of 
time given by different schools to the whole subject varies 
widely, but such topics must receive their share of attention 
and are not to be omitted altogether on the plea of lack of 
time. This applies even to the legends with which early Greek 
history is filled. As Holm remarks, "a knowledge of these 
traditions, which influence the historical consciousness of edu- 
cated men more than critically established facts ... is a part 
of the knowledge of history itself." 

It is well to put the treatment of these topics as early as 
possible, in order that the pupil may start with the idea of the 
unity of the Greek race, revealed in its common traditions and 
customs. There are some topics that from their nature must be 
reserved for a later treatment. These deal with the glories of 
Athens or the later development of the arts, architecture, and 
literature. 1 

It is also necessary to keep in view the extent of Greek influ- 
ence. This extent was both geographical and chronological. 

scriptive material is treated with much greater brevity and is skilfully in- 
terwoven with the general narrative, instead of being put in separate 
chapters. He also gives only about thirty-six pages to the Peloponnesian 
war. 

Oman's History of Greece represents the opposite method. He gives 
only fifty-seven out of five hundred and forty-six pages to similar subjects, 
and devotes one hundred and twenty-six pages to the Peloponnesian 
war. See remarks of Committee of Seven, Report, 56. 

1 Professor Seignobos has inserted chapters on all other subjects 
prior to his narrative of the Persian wars. Three of them, the Greek 
colonies, the early development of commerce and the arts, the common 
customs of the Hellenic race, he gives after a sketch of the early history 
of Sparta, the " Tyrants of the Peloponnese," and the " First Centuries of 
Athens." 



206 GREEK HISTORY 

The Greek race was scattered from the Caucasus mountains to 
the straits of Gibraltar. Not all settlements left a record of 
The Hellenic themselves in history, but they all to a greater or 
World. j ess d e g ree exerted an influence in the spread of 

Hellenic civilization. This is illustrated in the history of Sicily. 
At first the Greek colonies were communities possessing a 
distinct piece of territory and thoroughly separate from the na- 
tives, but eventually these natives adopted the Greek language 
and customs and became Hellenized. Considering this matter 
from a practical point of view, it is evident that the teacher can- 
not deal in detail with all the Greek colonies. Their signifi- 
cance can be emphasized in a better way by studying their 
geographical distribution, noting the time during which this 
colonial expansion went forward, the relations of these Greeks 
to the natives, and their relation also to the cities which had 
originally sent them out. 

The familiar glories of Greece were won in about two centu- 
ries, so that the whole time during which Greek influence was 

exerted is often lost sight of. The period of colo- 
Permanence . ° r 

of Greek nial expansion came long before these famous cen- 

influence. turies, and some of the most valuable work that 
Greece did was accomplished after those centuries were over. 
This later work is frequently neglected. Some writers bring 
the subject to a close at the battle of Chseronea, strangely ignor- 
ing the results which flowed from Alexander's conquests in the 
east. It should be remembered that at the beginning of the 
Christian era the eastern Mediterranean was Greek, although it 
was administered from Rome. The Gospels were written in 
Greek ; without Greek, Christianity could not have been effec- 
tively propagated. It was a Greek philosophy that undertook 
to explain the Gospel to the reason, and which created the 
doctrines of God made authoritative in the Nicene creed. 
Finally, it was the Hellenic culture which wellnigh made a 
nation out of the peoples of the eastern Mediterranean, so that 
they were able better than the west to resist the barbarians and 
succeeded in defending the remnants of empire until the 



GREEK HISTORY 207 

Middle Ages themselves came to a close. In two senses, 
therefore, Greece has exercised a permanent influence : first, 
through the study of Greek art and literature in the west, dur- 
ing the days of the Roman Republic and Empire, and since 
the Renaissance ; and, second, through the long perpetuation of 
what is called Hellenism in the east. The pupil in the high 
school is unable to appreciate these considerations as the ma- 
ture student may, but he should not be allowed to think that 
when Philip was victorious at Chseronea, or even when Corinth 
was destroyed, the drama of Greece was ended. He must be 
taught to keep in mind the relations of a people to the larger 
world which surrounds them and to the generations which 
follow. Only in this way can he form a true conception of the 
world. He can receive the right attitude as readily as the 
wrong attitude. The instruction is not so important for its 
immediate results in knowledge as it will become, because it 
furnishes a framework into which all his later reading will be 
fitted. If the framework be narrow and cramping, it will act as 
an obstacle to any intelligent notion of the historical process. 

Greek history falls naturally into periods. The first ends 
about the year 500 and "is concerned with the formation of 

the Greek race and the Greek character." * The 

. . , . . ... Periods, 

second includes the years 500 to 404, the glorious 

period of Greek history, with the defeat of the Persians, the 
leadership of Athens, the age of Pericles, but also with the 
disasters of the Peloponnesian war and the decay which fol- 
lowed. Then came long years of internal strife, from 404 to 
338, marked by the supremacy of Sparta and of Thebes, and by 
the influence of Syracuse, ending with the triumph of Philip of 
Macedon over the cities of Greece. The fourth period extends 
until the destruction of Corinth in 146. Greece is henceforth 



1 Holm, History of Greece, I. 6. The division into periods suggested is 
that of Holm, somewhat modified. Each one of these periods may easily 
be subdivided. Botsford subdivides the earlier portion of the first period 
into the Tribal Age, the Mycenean Age (1 500-1000, about), and the Epic 
Age (1000 to 700). 



208 GREEK HISTORY 

merged in the Roman Empire, and can hardly receive separate 
treatment, so that there is no fifth period in the strict sense 
of the term. But the teacher should, as already suggested, 
explain the survival of Greek influence and the tremendous 
effects it subsequently produced. 

Although it is always necessary to know the geography of a 
country if one would understand its history, there is no instance 
in which this is quite so important as it is in the 
Geography. cage Q ^ ^ e Greeks. This might be inferred from 
the fact that the pupil has constantly to deal with petty states 
rather than with the country as a whole. One can know much 
of the history of England without being able to locate Kent, or 
Norfolk, or Gloucestershire, but the history of the Greeks is 
unintelligible without an accurate idea of the position of Attica, 
Boeotia, Corinth, and Laconia. And yet this is only a minor 
reason for the study of Greek geography. The most cogent 
reason comes from the important results in history which arose 
directly from the geography or topography of Greece. The 
fundamental facts are an interior broken by mountains, and a 
long, ragged coast-line. Greece is about one-tenth the size of 
Spain and Portugal, but possesses a coast-line as long as theirs. 
The unity of Greece was maintained only by the convenience 
of water communication. The mountains that shut in each 
district were so rugged, and the passes which pierced them so 
narrow and difficult, that each was as distinct from the other as 
if it had been separated by an arm of the sea. " The Greeks 
were forced by the configuration and nature of their country to 
take to the sea, and consequently to pursue what was new." 1 

The location of cities may be postponed until the names of 
these are brought up in the course of the story, but the general 
geographical character of the country must be studied as an 
introduction to the subject. This may best be done by means 
of relief maps, or what are called physical maps. The types 
of mountain scenery may be shown in selected pictures. The 



1 Holm, I. 30. 



GREEK HISTORY 209 

pupils themselves should construct maps of different parts of 
Greece, or at least fill in outline maps. 

Topics : relation of Greece to the Balkan peninsula ; relation 
of island groups to the mainland ; natural boundary-line of Thrace 
on the south • natural boundary between northern Greece and 
Hellas proper ; distribution of mountain ranges and river val- 
leys ; character of the west coast of Asia Minor ; climate, rain- 
fall, and water-supply, in relation to agriculture; aspects of 
nature in relation to Greek religious ideas. 1 

In addition to these general facts, the pupil should learn the 
more important geographical features of Greece and of neigh- 
bouring lands ; for example, the divisions of Greece itself, the 
position of such islands as Crete, Rhodes, Samos, Chios, 
Lesbos, of the Hellespont, the Propontis, the Bosphorus. 

It is important that the pupil become acquainted with the ■ 

best known tales of ancient Greece before he begins the study 

of Greek history. These tales were the creation 

-. , i Tales, 

of the Greek spirit, and they make an atmosphere 

through which the history of the country may best be appre- 
ciated. If the pupils have had sufficient supplementary read- 
ing in the elementary school in connection with their language 
work, they have read some of these tales. They should also 
have been reviewed in the sixth grade after the work in history 
is begun, if the scheme suggested in this volume is adopted. 
At the beginning of the high school work it will be necessary 
only to go over a few of them once more, that the existing 
interest of the pupil may be taken advantage of in the fur- 
ther study of the subject. 

The tales of the heroes were associated with particular Greek 
towns or districts. 2 In the following list these places are given : 



1 For the geography of Greece, Freeman, Historical Geography of 
Europe, I. 18 ff. ; all general histories of Greece, particularly Curtius, 
I. 9-46. 

2 These tales are found in many versions, among which are the fol- 
lowing: Bulfinch, Age of Fable (De Wolfe, Fiske, & Co.); Cox, Tales of 
Ancient Greece (McClurg) ; Church, Stories of the Old World (Ginn), 

14 



2IO GREEK HISTORY 

Argos : Perseus, the Gorgon Sisters, and Medusa ; Tantalus. 

Thebes : Hercules (also connected with Argos), the Serpents, 
the Twelve Labours he performed as servant of Eurystheus. 
Cadmus and Europa, illustrating the tradition of the relation to 
the east. The Seven against Thebes. 

Thessaly : The Argonauts. The Centaurs; Peleus, Thetis, 
and Achilles. 

Coriiith : Sisyphus ; Bellerophon, the winged steed Pegasus, 
the Chimsera. 

Attica : Cecrops ; Theseus, Procrustes and his bed, the 
Minotaur, the Labyrinth and Ariadne. 

Crete: Minos, Daedalus, the Labyrinth. 

In one sense the stories told in the Homeric poems belong 
with these legends ; in another they serve a more direct his- 
torical purpose, because they throw lisrht upon the 
Homer. ,. . „ , _ . . . , , 

condition of the Greeks at the time when they 

were composed. From the information they contain, together 
with the remains of prehistoric Greece found by excavating the 
sites of Tiryns, Mycenae, Orchomenus, and other cities, can be 
constructed a fairly complete picture of what Greece was at the 
beginning of her career. 1 

The pupils, especially those who are not to study Greek, 
should be made familiar with the best selected stories from 
Homer. This work can be done in modernized versions, or, 
better, in translations. 2 



only the story of the Argonauts and the Seven against Thebes, the 
remainder of the book being taken up by Homeric tales ; Gayley, Classic 
Myths in English Literature (Ginn : a revision of Bulfinch) ; Guerber, 
Myths of Greece and Rome (Am. Bk. Co.). They are freely treated in 
Hawthorne's Wonder Book and Tanglewood Tales. 

1 Botsford, pp. 4-17, embodies in an interesting description of "The 
Prehistoric Age," indications both from recent archaeological researches 
and from Homer. Dr. Schliemann, through his excavations at Troy, 
Mycenae, and Tiryns, gave a great impetus to this archaeological work. 
Although his theories have been in many cases superseded, his works 
remain valuable as a storehouse of facts. They are Troy and its Re- 
mains (1874) ; Mycena (1878) ; flips (1881) ; Troja (1883) ; Tiryns (1886). 
Also valuable, C. Tsountas and J. I. Manatt, The Mycenean Age. 

2 For the Homeric tales, see versions already mentioned in Chap. 
VIII ; translations of Homer, besides those mentioned in the same 



GREEK HIS TOR Y 211 

Another preliminary topic is the religion of Greece. Some 
writers treat this subject separately from the customs of worship. 
Such a method is unfortunate. We are acquainted 
with the Greek gods chiefly through the tales of 
the Greek poets. The average pupil is not acute enough to 
discover in these tales much trace of genuine religious feeling. 
He may think that the Greeks had no real religion, and may 
not even pay them the scant respect the early Christians ac- 
corded in declaring these gods to be demons. This unhappy 
impression is hard to correct without sacrificing too many of the 
fascinating stories told by the Greeks. It may be partly cor- 
rected by a change in the manner of presenting the material ; 
in other words, by first describing the religious ideas and cus- 
toms of the Greeks, and afterwards explaining the characteristic 
anthropomorphisms of popular theology. 

If this principle be adopted, the first topics should be : worship 
at the domestic hearth ; public worship, sanctuaries, sacrifices, 
prayer, divination ; festivals ; oracles, of Zeus at Dodona, of 
Apollo at Delphi ; shrine of Apollo at Delos ; temple of Zeus 
at Olympia, the games in his honour ; the Pythian, Isthmian, and 
Nemean games ; Amphictyonies. 1 

After the pupil has learned that the Greeks were a religious 
people, and that their piety was genuine, though less sombre 
than our own, it will be time enough for him to learn some- 



list ; The Iliad, trans, by William Cullen Bryant ; The Odyssey, a 
prose translation by Butcher and Lang ; The Odyssey, trans, by Bryant. 
The Report on Sources by the New England History Teachers' Asso- 
ciation suggests the following selections from Homer as particularly 
useful: — Iliad: The Council Meeting of the Greek Leaders, Book II. 
54-440; The Parting between Hector and Andromache, Book VI. 
370-503; The Death of Hector, Book XXII. 128-515; The Funeral 
Games of Patroclus, Book XXIII. 184-897. Odyssey: The king's 
daughter Nausicaa goes to the river with her maidens to wash the 
clothes of the family, Book VI. 1-125; The Palace of Alcinous, Book 
VII. 82-132. (From the MS. by courtesy of the Committee). Fling, 
Studies, I. No. 1, pp. 2-10, contains selections from Lang, Leaf, Myers, 
Iliad. 

1 Fling, Ibid., selections from Pausanias, pp. 10-15. 



212 GREEK HISTORY 

thing of Greek popular theology. It must be remembered that 
the Greeks had no highly organized priesthood with authority 
to define the doctrines of God, and that the work 
of bringing together and uniting in a system the 
traditional notions of the gods peculiar to a hundred localities 
was left to the poets. The Hebrew and the Christian religions 
might not have seemed altogether dignified if they had been 
similarly treated. It is not the polytheistic element of the 
Greek theology that endangers its dignity. " The polytheism 
of the Greeks was, whatever we monotheists may say to the 
contrary, by no means an irrational religion. It endeavoured, 
while recognizing the divine control of human fate, to account 
for good and evil fortune to good and bad men alike, by the 
action of different deities not always acting in harmony with 
one another." 1 In dealing with the gods, the teacher should 
emphasize those characteristics which to the Greek mind em- 
bodied the powers of nature. Zeus must be at least dreadful, 
even if his conduct was not correct. 2 

It is a question at what point in the course the more extended 
treatment of the Greek religion should be placed. The pupils 
should realize that Greek religious ideas developed from age to 
age, and yet they will not long retain a clear notion of the 
process of change, so that the main thing is to guard their 
understanding of this subject from the misconceptions already 
discussed. 

It is necessary to explain briefly the theory the Greeks had 
of their origin, the significance of the name Hellenes, the 
division of the people into Dorians, 3 Ionians, and iEolians, their 



1 Holm, I. 132-133. 

2 It is difficult, and perhaps unnecessary, to keep the Greek divinities 
distinct from the gods of Rome, for the Roman names are the more 
familiar, — Jupiter than Zeus, Diana than Artemis. Mahaffy, Social 
Life in Greece, 348-384 ; Harrington and Tolman, Greek and Roman 
Mythology. 

3 Botsford does not accept the tradition of a Dorian invasion. He 
says : " The truth seems to be that the Dorians inhabited these three 
countries (Argolis, Laconia, Messenia) from the earliest times, but were 
not so named till after Homer." p. 28. Cf. Holm, I. 138-139. 



GREEK HISTORY 213 

geographical distribution, the contrast between Hellenes and 
" barbarians," the notion the Greeks had of their indebtedness 
to the Egyptians and the Phoenicians, the expan- The Early 
sion of the Greek population to the islands of the Greeks. 
yEgean and the coasts of Asia Minor, the ^Eolians on the north, 
the Ionians in the centre, and the Dorians on the south. All 
these topics should receive only passing attention, especially if 
the time for the whole subject is short, because there is such 
a mixture of fact and legend that the young pupil will be 
seriously confused. The founding of the Greek colonies may 
be described either before or after the early history of Sparta 
and of Athens. If after, a stronger emphasis will be placed 
upon Hellas itself, and at the same time sufficient attention 
will be given to the spread of Hellenic influence through the 
colonies. 

In treating the earlier period of Greek history, the teacher 
should, so far as possible, distinguish between well-substantiated 
historical facts and the tales that tradition has handed down. 
While the pupil may be interested in the tales whenever they are 
interesting and significant, he should understand that they throw 
no certain light upon the actual historical process. Stories are 
to be told as stories, and history as history. 

Sparta : situation ; the Spartans ; 1 Periceci ; Helots ; edu- 
cation of Spartan boys and girls ; ideals of conduct ; military 
communism ; organization of army and method of fighting ; 
double kingship ; council of elders ; assembly of freemen ; 
ephors. 2 

Story of Lycurgus ; 3 tales of the Messenian wars ; of the 
wars against the Arcadians, and the Argives. 

1 Compare the theory of the origin of the Spartans in Botsford, 
pp. 28-29, with the traditional views. In such cases the teacher should 
impress upon the pupil's mind the difference between a proved fact and 
an hypothesis more or less ingenious. 

2 Fowler, City-State ; Gilbert, Constitutional Antiquities of Sparta and 
Athens ; Greenidge, Handbook of Greek Constitutional History. Fling, I. 
No. 3, contains selections from Xenophon's description of Spartan life in 
the Hellenica (Dakyns' trans., Vol. II. : Macmillan). 

3 Plutarch. 



214 GREEK HISTORY 

Sparta dominant in the Peloponnese in the sixth century, 
through the Peloponnesian League ; nature of this league. 

Athens : story of Codrus ; disappearance of the kingship and 
rise of the archonship, duties of the different archons, particu- 
larly the legislators or " thesmothetae " ; privileged position of 
the nobles, wealthy traders become their rivals, the peasantry 
sink into slavery. 

Draco, meaning of " Draconian," extent to which Draco 
improved the situation. 

Solon, 1 as archon and legislator (594), his remedies for the 
distress of the peasants, further protects them by admitting 
them to the assembly and to a new supreme court (the Helisea), 
purpose of his change of the coinage to the Chalcidic standard, 
commercial advantage of the change. 2 

It should be remembered that if Greek history is taught in 
the first year of the high school to pupils with erude political 
Constitutional ideas, the reforms of Solon, together with the later 
History. reforms of Cleisthenes, must be presented only in 

their broader outlines. Changes in constitutional structure do 
not interest children of that age. An unnecessary emphasis on 
such details will render the whole subject distasteful. They 
will be interested in an account of the way the Athenians man- 
aged their city, if it be given to them as a picture of ancient 
life rather than as a lecture on the theory of the origin and 
development of the Athenian constitution. 

The study of the Greek tyrannies may come in naturally as 
an introduction to the history of Pisistratus. Although it may 
seem like explaining the unknown by the unfamiliar, a little 
interest may be added to the subject by telling the story of 
two or three Italian tyrants of the Renaissance period. 

Tyrants : Cleisthenes of Sicyon ; Cypselus and Periander of 
Corinth (655-582) ; Pisistratus takes advantage of the political 
dissensions in Athens to become tyrant there, length of this 
tyranny (560-510) ; Pisistratus establishes a free peasantry, 



1 Plutarch ; Herodotus, Bk. I., chapters 29, 30, tells the story of Solon 
and Croesus. 

2 Fowler, Gilbert, Greenidge ; and Botsford, Development of the 
Athenian Constitution. 



GREEK HISTORY 21 5 

beautifies the city, and renders its alliances strong ; overthrow 
of the family. 

Cleisthenes : manner of his return to Athens, appeals to the 
peasants against the nobles who begin their former oppressions 
(508) ; nature of the change he made in the organization of 
the tribes, and the effect of this upon the dissensions between 
the men of the Hills, the Plain, and the Shore ; ostracism as a 
means of bringing party strife to an end ; success of these 
reforms ; failure of Sparta's efforts to restore tyranny. 

At this point, if not earlier, there should be a study of the 

Greek colonies. This must be mainly geographical because, 

with the exception of Syracuse, these colonies have 

T Colonies, 

not left a long story of their career. It is to be 

noted that cities that played a secondary part in the events for 
which Greece is most celebrated were the founders of the 
principal colonies. For example, Megara founded Byzantium 
(afterwards Constantinople), Corinth founded Syracuse, the 
people of Miletus founded no fewer than eighty settlements in 
the Black Sea, Phocsea founded Massilia (Marseilles). On 
the other hand, Athens founded no colony of note, and took 
no deep interest in colonization until the period of the Delian 
League. The era of colonial expansion begins in the eighth 
and continues into the fifth century. It is an expansion north- 
ward for the control of the shores of Thrace, of the water- 
ways to the Black Sea, and of the Black Sea itself. Here the 
motives were fisheries, mines, a supply of grain, particularly 
from southern Eussia. The Black Sea was at first strange and 
terrible, but the Milesians changed its name to the Euxine, or 
the " hospitable." This colonial movement extended also into 
the west, reaching as far as Spain and Gaul, and to the south, 
founding Cyrene on the coast of Africa, and Naucratis in Egypt. 
Although its impulse came from an expanding population and 
the desire for trade, its results upon civilization were note- 
worthy. Freeman says : " In most of these colonies the Greeks 
mixed to some extent with the natives, and the natives to some 
extent learned the Greek language and manners. We thus get 
the beginning of what we may call an artificial Greek nation, a 



2l6 GREEK HISTORY 

nation Greek in speech, feeling, and culture, but not purely 
Greek in blood, which has held its place in the world ever 
since." 1 

The location and historical significance of the following colo- 
nies should be studied : 2 — 

Northern sEgean, Hellespont, JBosphorus, etc. : Chalcidian 
cities, founded by Chalcis and Eretria, 800 and after ; Sinope, 
by Miletus, 770 ; Cyzicus, by Miletus, 756 ; Trapezus, by Miletus, 
756 ; Thasos, by Paros, 706 ; Odessus, by Miletus, (?) \ Panti- 
capseum, by Miletus, (?) ; Byzantium, by Megara, 658. 

Egypt : Naucratis, founded by Miletus, after 570. 

Africa: Cyrene, founded by Thera, 633. 

Sicily and Western Mediterranean : Cyme, founded by Chalcis 
and Cyme, c. 1050 ; Syracuse, by Corinth, 734 ; Corcyra, by 
Corinth, 734; Sybaris, by Achaea, 721 ; Rhegium, by Chalcis 
and Messenia, 715, or earlier; Croton, by Achaea, 710 ; Taren- 
tum, by Sparta, 708 ; Acragas (Agrigentum), by Gela (Rhodian 
colony), 580 ; Massilia, by Phocaea, 600. 

These colonies are selected as significant for reasons which 
in each case are obvious. They may be found specifically 
stated in Abbott, I. 333 ff., or in Holm, I. 267 ff., 358 ff. 

Topics for the study of Greek colonization : 3 different motives 
leading to colonial establishments, civil troubles, trade, fisheries, 
mines, etc. ; character of settlements in each case ; relation to 
home city ; relation to natives ; subsequent influence on local 
civilization ; ultimate fate. 

Topics for more special study : Magna Grsecia ; Acragas, Pha- 



1 Historical Geography of Ezirope, yj. 

2 This list, with the dates, is adapted from Abbott, I. 363-365. 

3 References, in addition to Abbott and Holm, already mentioned : 
Lucas, Introduction to the Historical Geography of the British Colonies, 
52-55 ; Cunningham, Western Civilization, 86-91 ; Freeman, History of 
Sicily ; and all histories of Greece. 

After his chapter on the colonies, in order to emphasize the forces 
that made unity, Professor Seignobos inserts a chapter on the early 
development of commerce and the arts, and another on the religious 
customs characteristic of the Hellenic race. Dr. Botsford aims at a 
similar result in a chapter on the " Growth of National Unity through 
Literature and Religion." 



GREEK HISTORY 21/ 

laris, and the story of the Brazen Bull ; the tyrants of Syracuse, 
Gelo, Hiero. 

A study of the lives of several of the literary men of Greece 
reveals the larger community of the Greek world, correcting the 
impression of isolation received from the history of particular 
cities. This is indicated by several names in the following 
summary : — - 

Pindar, b. near Thebes, c. 522 ; generally resided at Thebes ; 
intimate friend of King Amyntas of Macedon ; at court of Hiero 
of Syracuse, 476-472 ; d. Argos, 448. 

yEschylus, b. near Athens, 525 ; fought at Marathon, Salamis, 
Platsea ; resided at Athens, at court of Hiero about 467 ; left 
Athens, 459, "perhaps in disgust at the growing power of the 
democracy," for Gela, Sicily ; d. 456. 

Herodotus, b. Halicarnassus, c. 490-480 ; took part in 
Athenian colonization of Thurii, in southern Italy ; d. c. 424. 

Euripides, b. at Salamis on day of battle ; resided at Athens ; 
left Athens, 409, first for Thessaly, afterwards for Pella, court 
of Archelaus, King of Macedon ; d. 405. 

Plato, b. Athens, 427 ; left Athens, 399 ; visited court of 
Dionysius of Syracuse ; returned to Athens, 388 ; visited Dio- 
nysius the Younger, 367, 362; d. 347. 

Aristotle, b. Stagira (Thrace), 384; father physician to 
Amyntas II. of Macedon ; went to Athens, 367; to Mysia, 
345 ; became tutor to the young Alexander, 343 ; after Alex- 
ander started on expedition to Asia came to Athens ; obliged 
to leave after Alexander's death ; d. at Chalcis, 322. 

Polybius, b. Megalopolis, c. 204 ; son of a general of Achfean 
League ; transported to Rome, 169 ; set at liberty, 150 ; pres- 
ent at destruction of Carthage, 146 ; employed by Roman gov- 
ernment to reorganize Greek towns after Greece becomes a 
Roman province ; d. 125. 1 

By the study of these topics, whether just at this point or 
earlier, the pupil should gain a comprehensive notion of the 
extent and the nature of Greek civilization, and be ready 
to understand the significance of the great struggle which was 



1 It is not intended that Greek literature be taught at this point. 
These facts are given merely for the reason stated above. 



218 GREEK HISTORY 

so soon to break out between the Greek world and the Persians, 
supported in the far west by the Carthaginians. This is the 
first of the historic conflicts between Europe and Asia. High 
school pupils may be too young for their imagination usefully 
to sweep the larger field of such historic movements, and yet 
an occasional effort of this kind may fit them for a better 
understanding of the world's history. 

The struggle began in western Asia Minor before the reign 
of the tyrants on the mainland of Greece was concluded, but 
Persian i ts chief incidents fall in the early years of the fifth 

Wars. century. Its result was not merely the defeat of 

the Persians, but the establishment of the Delian League under 
the leadership of Athens, which opened a new era in the inter- 
nal history of Greece. This era closed with the downfall of 
Athens at the end of the Peloponnesian war in 404. 

It is particularly necessary, in dealing with a period filled 
with incidents of such surpassing interest, that the teacher does 
not lay an almost equal emphasis upon each battle and each great 
man that appears in the story. It is better to remember three 
or four men well than to be able simply to identify a larger 
number of famous names. Those who should make a clear and 
permanent impression on the imaginations of the pupils are : 
Miltiades, Themistocles, Aristides, Pausanias, Cimon, Pericles, 
Alcibiades, Lysander. There may be reasons for including 
men like Brasidas, Cleon, and Nicias in such a list, but if it 
is made too long, the result will be that no one man will 
stand forth with a clear-cut outline. So, also, a battle should 
be studied only if it be famous like Marathon or Thermopylae, 
or if, like Leuctra, it introduced a new method of fighting, or 
if its consequences were decisive of some great cause like the 
destruction of the Athenian armament at Syracuse. If there 
is time, it is advisable to study such incidents in detail, for the 
interest which is aroused will enliven other less detailed work. 

As an introduction to the struggle, there should be a review 
of the rise of the Persian empire and the extent of its domin- 
ions and of its resources. 



GREEK HISTORY 219 

Persian wars : relations of the Greek cities to Croesus, king 
of Lydia, and to Persia after his downfall, how these events 
affected their prosperity and their position as centres of Hel- 
lenic civilization ; causes of the Ionic revolt (499-494), the 
way the Athenians and the Eretrians became involved ; nature 
of the Athenian victory at Marathon (49 o), 1 and its effect upon 
the position of Athens among the Greek states. 

Events between the first and second Persian invasions : fate 
of Miltiades ; effect on the government of Athens of choosing 
archons by lot from the nominees of the townships ; Themis- 
tocles 2 and Aristides ; 2 naval policy adopted at the suggestion 
of Themistocles and its consequences ; league for defence 
against the Persians, policy of the Peloponnesian states. 

Second Persian invasion : Thermopylae and Artemisium (480) ; 
the Athenians abandon their country ; how Themistocles forced 
the allies to fight at Salamis, make-up of the Persian fleet at 
Salamis, reasons which led Sparta to advance into central 
Greece and fight the battle of Plataea (479) ; fruits of Salamis 
gathered at Mycale ; treason of Pausanias and its effect on the 
position of Sparta. 3 War in Sicily between the Greeks and 
the Carthaginians, Himera, result on the position of Syracuse. 

After the decisive defeat of the Persian armament the inter- 
est centres upon the use Athens was to make of the prestige 
she had gained in the struggle; in other words, D e iian 
upon the Deiian League in its first and second L eague. 
phases. The Greeks never showed the capacity for organiza- 
tion which later distinguished the Romans. This defect in 
their political character was the result of their physical envi- 
ronment and their previous experience, which developed in 
them strong particularist tendencies. The creation of the 
League was Athens' great opportunity. Although Athens acted 
at first rather as the leader than as the master of the allies, she 
later attempted to bring them thoroughly under her control, and 

1 Account of the battle in Herodotus, Bk. VI. chapters 107-117. 

2 Plutarch. In Perrin's Plutarch's Themistocles and Aristides, the 
historical and legendary elements are distinguished. 

8 From Artemisium to end of Salamis, Herodotus, VIII. chapters 
40-95. See also iEschylus, Persians, lines 359-438, " as the account of 
an eye-witness and combatant which must always hold a primary place 
among the records of the time." Rawlinson, Herodotus, IV. 283, n. 3. 



220 GREEK HISTORY 

so exposed herself to the accusation of establishing a new sort 
of tyranny. During this period, also, Athens adopted a more 
aggressive colonial policy, establishing in many strategic places 
in the iEgean cleruchies, or communities of Athenians who 
retained ^their rights of citizenship. They were, therefore, in 
aim and in their relation to the mother city, different from the 
customary Greek colony, and resembled, rather, the Roman 
military colonies. 

In the study of this period there should also be a brief 
explanation of the attempt of Athens to control Greece north 
of the Isthmus of Corinth, and even to extend her influence to 
the Peloponnese by an alliance with Argos and other cities. 
But as most of the cities which are involved in this conflict 
rarely enter the story of Greece, it is better to seek to reach the 
result through a general description rather than by an insistence 
on details. 

Athens: policy of Themistocles after the war, jealous con- 
duct of Sparta, attack on Themistocles, he is ostracized; 
Cimon and his policy. 

League of Delos : the need of defence against the Persians 
out of which it grew (477), reason why Athens rather than 
Sparta gained the leadership, its religious basis ; difference 
between this League and the Peloponnesian League ; power 
Athens possessed, position of the other cities, extent to which 
their independence was abridged, distinction between the cities 
in the contribution they made to the common fund ; the war 
fleet so created, and its use by the Athenians. The Persians 
driven from the ^Egean and its shores ; Naxos and Thasos, re- 
volted allies reduced to subjection, terms granted them. 

Athens : influenced by Ephialtes and Pericles cuts loose from 
the Peloponnesian League, becomes the ally of Argos and 
Thessaly, endeavours to build up a Boeotian League hostile to 
Thebes, brings the treasury of the Delian League to Athens 
and attempts to transform the League into an empire (454?)? 
end of the Athenian continental alliance at the Thirty Years' 
Truce (445). 

Pericles : x the office of general and its powers, effect of his 
policy of paying for public service, especially on the jury, in ren- 

1 Abbott, Pericles. 



GREEK HISTORY 221 

dering Athens more democratic, the functions of these jurors, 
the HeHsea and its jurisdiction over cases involving Athenians 
and the allies ; the use Pericles made of the surplus Delian rev- 
enue in strengthening and beautifying Athens ; restriction of 
the citizenship to persons whose parents were Athenians. 1 

Although it may not be possible to give much attention in 
the several fields of history to the development of art and of 
architecture, there are special reasons why an ex- 
ception should be made in the case of the Greeks. Art * 
Such a study, brief and unsatisfactory though it may be, will be 
valuable not merely for its own sake, but also because it em- 
phasizes the extent and continuity of Greek civilization. 

Brief list for such a study: buildings and their decorations ; 
the general plan of the Acropolis, the Parthenon (structure, 
style, the pediments, the frieze), the Erechtheum (style, Cary- 
atids), the Propylaea, the so-called Theseum, the theatre of 
Dionysus, the temple of Poseidon ( ?) at Paestum, the temples at 
Agrigentum (Acragas) and Selinus. 

Sculpture (besides those already referred to, for example, on 
the pediments of the Parthenon) : the pediment figures from 
iEgina, the Hermes of Praxiteles, the Apoxyomenus of Lysip- 
pus, the Victory of Samothrace, the Aphrodite of Melos, the 
reliefs from the altar at Pergamum. 2 

Schools with small classes and with unusual facilities may be 
able to carry on the study of Greek art in the manner suggested 
by the Committee of the New England History Teachers' 
Association. This calls for the loan, for example, of a set of 
Parthenon photographs to each pupil. Each one is to have 
also a set which will bring out by contrast the excellence of 
the Parthenon marbles. " For instance, in the pediment lec- 

1 Fling, I. No. 2, gives selections from Aristotle on the Athenian 
constitution, bearing upon the conditions about the year 330, but which 
throw light also upon the earlier constitution. 

2 Tarbell's History of Greek Art contains pictures of nearly all these 
buildings and figures. See also Gardner's Handbook of Greek Sculpture 
and Sturgis' European Architecture, both well illustrated. Cheap repro- 
ductions abound; particularly the Perry Pictures, the Helman-Taylor 
series, etc. 



222 GREEK HISTORY 

ture, Carrey's Drawings of Pediments, the pediment groups 
from the temple of Zeus at Olympia, pediment of the Made- 
leine, of the British Museum, etc." x 

Characteristics of Greek life : manner of living, houses, dress, 
structure of society, particularly the part taken by slaves ; posi- 
tion of women ; children and their training ; manner of holding 
public assemblies and tribunals ; orators, sophists, rhetors ; the 
theatre, tragic poets ; 2 Aristophanes ; Socrates ; Thucydides, 
compared with Herodotus. 3 

The period closes with the great tragedy of the Pelopon- 
nesian war. Like so many wars in the history of Europe, this 
Peloponnesian na< ^ * ts deep-seated causes and its more apparent 
War * occasion. The study of these causes will furnish 

the teacher an opportunity to review the career of Sparta up to 
this time, and to compare the position which she had held with 
the ambitions of Athens. Sparta had been the enemy of the 
tyrants, but had promoted the rule of the oligarchies, and so 
had little sympathy with the Athenian democracy. She had 
not attempted to found a closely organized empire like the 
League of Delos in its second phase, and yet none the less was 
she determined to maintain her traditional supremacy. She 
believed Athens was endeavouring to found a power that was 
ruinous to her own position, and to become a tyrant city in 
the Greek sense of the word, so far as the minor states were 
concerned. 

The war was not continuous, but it was substantially one war. 
just as the Hundred Years' war was a single struggle, although 



1 See further, Report, I. p. 38. It has now been shown that these 
drawings were not by Carrey. 

2 Particularly illuminating, Mahaffy, Social Life in Greece. The poets, 
especially Aristophanes, illustrate the conditions in Athens. See also 
Xenophon's Hellenica. For Socrates, Xenophon's Memorabilia. 

3 The New England History Teachers' Association suggest the fol- 
lowing from Thucydides as useful selections on the Peloponnesian war : 
The Funeral Oration by Pericles, Bk. II. chapters 34-46; Siege of Pla- 
taea, II. 71-78, III. 20-24 ; Naval Battle at Syracuse, VII. 69-71. The 
account of the capture of Sphacteria should also be added, IV. 28-38. 



GREEK HISTORY 223 

broken by the Peace of Bretigny and the Treaty of Troyes. 
In studying its progress even with a text-book that describes 
the military events with considerable detail, the teacher should 
concentrate attention upon its most characteristic incidents, 
like the siege of Platasa, the struggle for the island of Sphac- 
teria, the last fights about Syracuse, the battles of Arginusae 
and of ^Egospotami. 

The events of the war furnish an opportunity to study the 
new Athenian empire subjected to severe strain. The attack 
on Melos was a confession on the part of the Athenians that 
this empire was founded on force. It was like Napoleon's 
invasion of Portugal or England's bombardment of Copenhagen 
in 1807. The revolt of Mytilene and the measures of terror 
which Athens adopted illustrate the same thing. 

The war also opened the way for the recovery of Persian au- 
thority in western Asia Minor. By their disunion the Greeks 
invited the destruction that they had with difficulty warded off 
in the earlier part of the century. Persian subsidies are a de- 
cisive element in the second phase of the struggle. 

Topics: quarrels of Athens with Corinth and Megara ; sur- 
prise of Platsea (431) ; ravaging of Attica, pestilence at Athens, 
destruction of Platsea ; revolt of Mytilene (428) ; the politicians 
Nicias and Cleon ; struggle at Sphacteria and the rejected over- 
tures for peace ; loss of Amphipolis and of Athenian power in 
Chalcidice ; death of Cleon; Peace of Nicias (421). 

Between the first and second periods of warfare comes the 
disastrous expedition against Syracuse in which the 
Spartans took only an indirect part, sending Gylip- 
pus, whose skill in managing the defence largely contributed to 
the defeat of the Athenians. 

Second part (called the Decelean War), 413-404 : treach- 
ery of Alcibiades ; bargain between Tissaphernes and the 
Spartans ; decisive importance of this Persian intervention ; 
the Athenians choose four hundred to take charge of the war 
(411) ; Alcibiades rejoins the Athenians, his return to Athens, 
and final loss of influence ; Lysander and the Persian Cyrus ; 



224 GREEK HISTORY 

battle of Arginusae (406) and the punishment of the generals ; 
^Egospotami, the fall of Athens and the terras of peace. 

The next includes the years 404-338, and its theme is the 
internal conflicts of the Greek cities. Persia was to regain by 
lavish use of money, and by aiding the Greek cities against 
each other, what she had lost in a direct attack. This must be 
kept before the pupil as one of the most important features 
during the years of Spartan supremacy. Another is the rule of 
the oligarchies resting. on Spartan support. 

Spartan supremacy : the Spartan alliance with the rich in 
Athens and other conquered towns, oligarchies like the Thirty 
Tyrants and the Councils of Ten, supported by Spartan har- 
mosts and garrisons ; Thrasybulus and the expulsion of the 
Thirty (403) ; expedition of the Ten Thousand impels Arta- 
xerxes to attack Greek cities in Asia Minor, and this brings on 
war with Sparta, under leadership of Agesilaus ; Persian gold 
stirs up enemies in Hellas ; Conon wins the battle of Cnidus 
(394) and rebuilds the long walls of Athens; the Athenians 
revolutionize the art of war by perfecting light-armed troops ; 
death of Lysander and recall of Agesilaus \ terms of peace of 
Antalcidas (387). 

Sparta was to receive a more deadly blow than any she had 
felt in the struggle that led to the Peace of Antalcidas. It was to 
come from Thebes, whose citadel she had treach- 
erously seized. The brief period of Theban su- 
premacy is more interesting in the annals of war than in the 
general affairs of the Greek states, for the overthrow of the old 
system of alliances brought a confusion which Epaminondas was 
powerless to remove. The change in the art of war introduced 
by Epaminondas was so simple that it can easily be understood 
by the pupils. 

Topics : Spartan war with Chalcidian cities gives Phcebidas 
an opportunity to seize citadel of Thebes (383) ; Spartan 
attack on Peiraeus and the new Athenian maritime confederacy ; 
uprising of Thebans under Pelopidas ; decisive battle of Leuctra 
(371); uprising of the Peloponnese against Sparta; Epami- 
nondas' first campaign in the Peloponnese and his policy; 



GREEK HISTORY 225 

Thebans invite Persian intervention ; Epaminondas' last battle, 
Mantinea (362). 1 

The fortunes of Syracuse after the defeat of the Athenian 
expedition should be followed to the end of this period, with an 
explanation connecting them with the beginnings of Roman 
control. 

Topics : attack of the Carthaginians gives rise to tyranny of 
Dionysius ; Carthaginians finally restricted to Lilybasum and 
Drepanum (391) ; Sicily subject to Syracuse ; Dionysius attacks 
the Greek cities in southern Italy, which are also threatened 
by the Sabellian tribes on the north; Timoleon (345-337) res- 
cues Syracuse from tyranny of Dionysius the Younger ; progress 
of Hellenic civilization in Sicily. 2 

After the close of the battle of Mantinea, there is an oppor- 
tunity to give a review of the condition of the Greek cities which 
thus far have played the chief part ; and this is important in order 
to form an intelligent opinion of the gain or loss to Greece of 
the supremacy of Macedon which was soon to come. 

The succeeding years to 338 cover the rise of Macedonia 
under the leadership of Philip. The conflict is especially inter- 
esting, since the new Macedonia was a territorial 
power rather than a city-state, like Athens or Sparta. 
It is also interesting because of Philip himself, and because of 
his great antagonist, Demosthenes. 

Topics : Philip's early life, his rise to power in Macedonia ; 
Philip's desire to extend the territory of Macedonia brings him 
into conflict with the Athenians, whose prosperity rests upon 
their trade, particularly the grain trade by the Hellespont to the 
Black Sea ; Demosthenes' first Philippic leads Athenians to 
despatch a fleet north, and Philip pauses ; Philip makes war on 
Olynthus, provoking the Olynthiac orations of Demosthenes, 
fall of Olynthus ; through Sacred War Philip secures a position 
in Amphictyonic Council ; Macedonian troops appear in Pelo- 



1 Plutarch's Pelopidas. 

2 Freeman, Hist07-y of Sicily, III., and his Story of Sicily. Histories 
of Rome, like How and Leigh, Shuckburgh, Pelham. 

*5 



226 GREEK HISTORY 

ponnese ; in the Sacred War against Amphissa Philip seizes 
Elatea ; Athens and Thebes resist, are defeated at Chasronea ; 
by terms of peace Greek cities possess autonomy, but authori- 
tative leadership given to Philip. 

The importance of the succeeding period, from 338 to 146, 
lies in two facts : first, in the spread of the Hellenic influence 
Alexander's through the east after the victories of Alexander 
Empire. tne Great, and second, because this period offers 

the connecting link between Greek and Roman history and 
brings out the element of continuity in the development of the 
ancient world. In order to make the connection complete, it 
is well to prolong the story of the different kingdoms that the 
successors of Alexander founded as far as the date of their 
absorption in the empire of the Roman Republic. Greek his- 
tory, in the narrow sense of the word, has little left of interest 
to the pupil. 

Topics : beginnings of Alexander's reign ; destruction of 
Thebes; composition of his army; victories at Granicus and 
Issus ; method of besieging Tyre and fate of the city ; found- 
ing of Alexandria ; Arbela ; march to India ; discovery of the 
sea route to India ; break-up of his empire upon his death ; 
dominions of Cassander, Lysimachus, Seleucus Nicator, Ptol- 
emy Soter ; time during which each of these endured. 

Hellenism in the East: Alexander's policy in founding 
Greek cities ; Alexandria, its trade, its library and scholars, 
Eratosthenes and his theory of the earth ; Antioch ; character 
of the Greek cities in the east ; increasing use of the Greek 
language ; effect on the Greeks of oriental luxury. 1 

For the history of Greece itself, the remaining topics are the 
Lamian war and the death of Demosthenes, the Achaean and 
the Etolian Leagues, the condition of the Greek cities at the 
beginning of Roman dominion. 2 

It is not necessary for the pupils to learn the dates of all the 

1 Mahaffy, Alexander' 's Empire, Wheeler, Alexander, Dodge, Alex- 
ander. Fling, I. No. 4, Alexander's methods of warfare from Arrian 
(Chinnock's trans.). 

2 Fling, I. No. 5, selections from Polybius (Shuckburgh's trans.). 



GREEK HISTORY 227 

important events in Greek history. A few should be selected, 
and other events remembered in relation to these. The inci- 
dents of the second Persian invasion can be grouped 
about Salamis. The pupil will find no difficulty in DateS ° 
remembering that Thermopylae immediately preceded Salamis, 
and that Plataea and Mycale followed it in the next year. With 
Salamis also the battle of Himera can be associated, for the 
Greeks believed the two took place on the same day. The 
League of Delos was the consequence of the Athenian triumph. 
The following dates have either a special importance or they 
lend themselves to such groupings. 1 

776. The First Olympiad. 

658. Founding of Byzantium (later Constantinople). 

594. Solon's archonship and reforms. 

510. Expulsion of Hippias, beginning of career of Cleis- 
thenes. 

494. Destruction of Miletus. 

490. Marathon. 

480. Thermopylae and Salamis. 

454. Usual date assigned for transfer of Delian treasury to 
Athens and beginning of transformation of League 
into an empire. 

432. Beginning of the Peloponnesian war. 
415. Sicilian expedition. 

404. End of Peloponnesian war. 

387. Peace of Antalcidas, first blow to Spartan supremacy. 

371. Leuctra, destruction of Sparta's power, beginning of 

Theban supremacy. 
362. Death of Epaminondas at Man tinea, end of power of 

Thebes. 
33S. Chaeronea, supremacy of Philip. 
332. Destruction of Tyre, founding of Alexandria. 
323. Death of Alexander the Great. 
274. The Romans conquer Magna Grascia. 
241. The Romans annex Sicily. 
197. The Romans conquer the Macedonians. 
146. Greece becomes a Roman province. 



1 Botsford gives a convenient list of events in chronological order, 
printing in bold-faced type the more important dates. 



CHAPTER XIV 

ROMAN HISTORY (TO A. D. 395). 
BIBLIOGRAPHY. 

Larger General Works : — 
The Republic : — 

Duruy, V. History of Rome. 8 vols. London, Kegan Paul & Co. 

Ihne, W. History of Rome. 5 vols. London, Longmans, Green 
& Co. (Out of print.) 

Mommsen, T. History of Rome (to the death of Caesar). 4 vols. 
London, R. Bentley & Son. New York, Chas. Scribner's Sons. 

The Empire : — 

Gibbon, Edward. The Decline and Fall of the Roman Empire. 
Edited by J. B. Bury. 7 vols. London, G. Bell & Sons. New York, The 
Macmillan Co. 

Merivale, C. A History of the Romans under the Empire. 8 vols. 
London and New York, Longmans, Green & Co. 

Smaller General Works : — 

Allen, W. F. A Short History of the Roman People (to 476). Bos- 
ton, Ginn & Co. 

How, W. W., and Leigh, H. D. A History of Rome to the Death 
of Caesar. London and New York, Longmans, Green & Co. 

Merivale, C. General History of Rome (to 476). London and 
New York, Longmans, Green & Co. 

Mommsen, T. The History of the Roman Republic. Abridged from 
the larger History by C. Bryans and F. J. R. Hendy. New York, 
Charles Scribner's Sons. 

Morey, W. C. Outlines of Roman History for the use of High 
Schools and Academies (to the coronation of Charlemagne). New York, 
American Book Co. 

Pelham, H. F. Outlines of Roman History. London, Rivington. 
New York, G. P. Putnam's Sons. 

Shuckburgh, E. S. A History of Rome to the battle of Actium. 
New York, The Macmillan Co. Also A History of Rome for Beginners, 
from the Foundation of the City to the Death of Augustus. 

Special Works: — 

Abbot, F. F. A History and Description of Roman Political Insti- 
tutions. Boston, Ginn & Co. 



ROMAN HISTORY {TO A.D. 395) 229 

Beesly, A. H. The Gracchi, Marius, and Sulla. (Epoch Series.) 
London and New York, Longmans, Green & Co. 

Bury, J. B. The Student's Roman Empire, from its Foundation to 
the Death of Marcus Aurelius. New York, American Book Co. 

Capes, W. W. The Early Roman Empire, from the Assassination of 
Julius Caesar to the Assassination of Domitian. The Roman Empire of 
the Second Century, or the Age of the Antonines. (Epoch Series.) Lon- 
don and New York, Longmans, Green & Co. 

Cruttwell, C. J. History of Roman Literature. London, C. Griffin 
& Co. New York, Charles Scribner's Sons. 

Cunningham (see list for Ancient History). 

Fisher, G. P. History of the Christian Church. New York, Charles 
Scribner's Sons. London, Hodder & Stoughton. 

Fowler, W. W. (see list for Greek History). 

Greenidge, A. H. J. Roman Public Life. New York, The Macmillan 
Co. 

Judson, H. P. Caesar's Army. Boston, Ginn & Co., 18S8. London, 
E. Arnold. 

Lanciani, R. Ancient Rome in the Light of Recent Discoveries, 
Pagan and Christian Rome. The Ruins and Excavations of Ancient 
Rome. Boston, Houghton, Mifflin & Co. London, Macmillan & Co. 
The Destruction of Ancient Rome. London and New York, The Mac- 
millan Co. 

MacKail, J. W. Latin Literature. London, John Murray. New 
York, Charles Scribner's Sons. 

Merivale, C. The Roman Triumvirates. (Epoch Series.) London and 
New York, Longmans, Green & Co. 

Mommsen, T. Provinces of the Roman Empire. 2 vols. London, 
R. Bentley & Son. New York, Charles Scribner's Sons. 

Morey, W. C. Outlines of Roman Law; Comprising its Historical 
Growth and General Principles. New York and London, G. P. Put- 
nam's Sons. 

Preston, H. W., and Dodge, L. Private Life of the Romans. Bos- 
ton, Leach, Shewell & Co. 

Ramsay, W. M. The Church and the Roman Empire, before 170 a. d. 
London and New York, G. P. Putnam's Sons. 

Schaff, P. History of the Christian Church. 6 vols. New York, 
Charles Scribner's Sons. Edinburgh, T. & T. Clark. 

Smith, B. B. Rome and Carthage, the Punic Wars. (Epoch Series.) 
London and New York, Longmans, Green & Co. 

Teuffel, "W. S. History of Roman Literature. Trans, by G. C. Warr. 
London, G. Bell & Son. New York, The Macmillan Co. 
Sources : — 

Ammianus Mareellinus. Trans, by C. D. Yonge. Exceedingly val- 
uable for the history of Rome during the fourth century. Good 
index. Bohn's Library. London, G. Bell & Son. New York, The Mac- 
millan Co. 



230 ROMAN HISTORY {TO A.D. 395) 

European History Studies, Vol. I. Nos. 6, 7, 8, 9. Selections made by 
F. M. Fling. Chicago, Ainsworth& Co. 

European History Studies, Vol. II. No. 1. Selections made by Guern- 
sey Jones. Same publisher. 

Monumentum Ancyranum. The Deeds of Augustus. Edited by 
William Fairly. Philadelphia, University of Pennsylvania. 

Pennsylvania Translations and Reprints. Vol. IV. Nos. 1, 2. Phila- 
delphia, University of Pennsylvania. 

There are also translations of Roman writers : Caesar, Cicero, Livy, etc. 

Guides : — 

Burdick, W. L. Topical Outlines of Roman History. Chicago, 
Scott, Foresman & Co. 

Maps and Atlases (see Greek history list). 

The scope of the instruction in the history of Rome is con- 
trolled by the place of the course in the school programme. 
If it is to come at the outset of work in the second- 
ary school, the selection of matter and the method 
of presentation must be different from what these will be if it is 
put in later and if its object be chiefly preparation for a college 
entrance requirement. Other differences of treatment will arise 
according as Roman history furnishes the subject for a year's 
work or for a half year's work, following Greek history, or again, 
for only a small fraction of a year in a course on general his- 
tory. In these suggestions upon the teaching of Roman his- 
tory, it will be assumed that the course is either a part of a one 
year course in ancient history, or that it occupies a year by 
itself, and that it is given in either the first or the second year 
of the high school. 

It has already been argued that ancient history may con- 
veniently be brought to a close about the year 395 a.d. This 
implies the necessity of teaching the history of the 
Empire as a part of the history of Rome. Roman 
history has so long been considered subsidiary to the study of 
Latin literature that the Empire has been ignored, except as a 
proper subject for the course in general history. It is undoubted 
that Rome did more for later civilization during the imperial 
period than during the Republic. The Republic effected the 
conquest of all the lands about the Mediterranean, but it fell 



ROMAN HISTORY {TO A.D. 395) 23 1 

before it had been able to assimilate them. Two centuries of 
imperial administration were required to complete this task. 
The heritage which the Romans left to succeeding generations 
has been briefly summed up in the following words : "A highly 
perfected system of law, a model of the most effective absolu- 
tism, and the union of the ancient world in an organic whole." 1 
Each element of this was the creation of the Empire. If 
Roman history is to be studied as something more than an 
introduction to the Latin of the Augustan Age, it must not 
close with the battle of Actium or the death of Augustus, but 
must be continued at least until the fourth century is over. 

In teaching Roman history, there are difficulties that do not 
arise in teaching the history of Greece. There is so much of 

law and government, and these are relatively unin- 

. .,. ■ , i-ii c Difficulties, 

teresting, if not incomprehensible, to children 01 

high school age. They find Greek history charming because 
of its personal character, — a series of heroic men, or a series of 
heroic cities almost equally personal ; but much of Roman 
history seems taken up with a constitutional development which 
is hard for children to comprehend, because they are not old 
enough to enter deeply into political affairs, and further, because 
the constitutional development of Rome is so remote from the 
governmental notions which they may have imbibed in their 
daily experience. 

In studying the growth of Rome, it is also difficult to mark 
the time where authentic history begins. When the Romans 
commenced to write history, they were already far Ear i y R 0man 
removed from the events which they attempted to History, 
describe, and, possessing few records upon which to base their 
work, copied from earlier or contemporary Greek annalists. 
And yet their curiosity about the early development of the city, 
and their zeal in working over the fragmentary traditions which 
had come down to them, led to the creation of detailed narra- 
tives, buttressed with dates, carrying the story back to the very 
foundation of the city. The uncritical world regarded this 

1 Adams, Civilization during the Middle Ages. 



232 ROMAN HISTORY {TO A.D. 395) 

story in quite the same way as it looked upon the tale of the 
Punic wars, or Caesar's career in Gaul. When the new his- 
torical school arose, and Niebuhr began the reconstruction of 
Roman history, the world was reluctant to confess frankly that 
it knew very little about Rome before b. c. 265. Text-book 
writers accordingly continued to describe the career of early 
Rome with every appearance of precision, except that they 
occasionally inserted statements that much of the matter rested 
upon unverifiable tradition. 1 

1 It is interesting to note here the attitude taken toward this matter 
by several recent makers of text-books somewhat more comprehensive 
than the ordinary text-book for use in the secondary school. 

A conservative view of the historical value of the traditional stories 
of the regal period is given by E. S. Shuckburgh, History of Rome, pp. 
58-59. He says, " In the first place they contain the account of the 
origin of the city and its institutions, with which the Romans themselves 
were long content. And if this account is to be regarded as founded on 
things existing, rather than really telling us how they came about, yet it 
enables us to understand these institutions more fully, and to see them 
with somewhat the same eyes with which the Roman citizen regarded 
them. In the second place, they convey a correct view in the main 
of the actual progress made by the city from its beginning, first to 
internal order and freedom, and then to independence and even suprem- 
acy among its neighbours." This he maintains, whether " the history of 
the kings be partly true or wholly false. . . ." Less conservative is the 
opinion of Professor H. F. Pelham, in his Outlines of Roman History, 
pp. 12-16. He says in conclusion, " In it [the regal period] materials of 
various sorts and kinds, and brought from very different quarters, are 
found side by side. Intermingled with fragments of genuinely old and 
native tradition we find pieces of world-wide folk-lore . . . stories, some 
drawn from the inexhaustible stores of Greek legend, or invented by the 
scarcely less inexhaustible imagination of Greek chroniclers, others rep- 
resenting the naive attempts of the soberer Roman mind to find an 
origin for the most ancient of their usages, institutions, and monuments. 
All these various materials were gradually combined and arranged by 
the efforts of successive generations ; but the orderly and consecutive 
narrative, with its apparatus of names and dates, which was thus pro- 
duced, had even less claim to be considered history than the mass of 
disconnected tales of which it was composed." Professor Pelham also 
remarks that authentic history does not really begin until about 265. 

See, also, How and Leigh, History of Rome, 34 ff., for a criticism of 
the legends of the regal period, and an attempt to rehabilitate much of 
this early history. In contrast to the attitude of Shuckburgh and How 
and Leigh, note the statements of the Italian historian, Pais, in the first 



ROMAN HISTORY {TO A.D. 395) 233 

If the critical historians do not know how the early Roman 
constitution came into being, why should children be required 
to learn the traditional story, or a rationalistic modification of 
this story? Even if some facts are generally agreed upon, how 
is the pupil to appreciate nice distinctions between fact and 
tradition? Is that traditional history so sacred that it must 
be learned whether it be true or not ? As the Committee of 
Seven remarked, " It sometimes seems as if the ghost of Livy 
were with us yet." 1 

Children should be familiar with the legends that cluster 
about the names of the kings and of the heroes of the early 
Republic, and these they should know as they know the story of 
Lycurgus or of Codrus. But constitutional reforms that may 
never have taken place except in the imagination of Greek and 
Roman annalists are altogether different. In themselves they 
are not interesting, and there is no excuse for forcing them into 
the child's memory unless they are true. 

Much the same may be said of the story of Rome's early 
wars with her Latin neighbours. The interest that attaches to 
a growth from such narrow limits to the dominion of the world 
hardly justifies the teacher in asking the child to follow the 
fortunes of a legendary war with the Volscians and the ^Equians, 
or even with the city of Veii. These stories should be learned 
with other similar stories, without an attempt in a systematic 



volume of his Storia di Roma. " In the case of the history of Roman 
legislation before the Decemvirate, we are confronted with accounts not 
originally true, and not only altered by later changes, but produced by 
real and deliberate falsification." The whole story of the Decemvirate 
he declares to be "the result of unskilful attempts to combine self- 
contradictory traditions, and to have at bottom no historical or chrono- 
logical value." He also says, "The pretended constitutional history of 
Rome, described by the annalists of the second and first centuries, is in 
direct opposition to the honest and sincere declaration of Polybius, who 
asserted that it was difficult to explain the beginnings and successive 
modifications, and to foretell the future phases of the Roman constitu- 
tions, since the institutions of the past, both private and public, were 
unknown." See Professor S. B. Platner's article, "The Credibility of 
Early Roman History," Am. Hist. Review, Jan. 1902. 
1 Report, 54. 



234 ROMAN HISTORY (TO A.D. 395) 

way to restore the process by which Rome made her early 
conquests. 

The efforts of the pupil should be economized, so that when 
the historical period is reached, he can obtain some conception 
of the Roman Republic and its development into an empire of 
world-wide power. For many pupils the story of the early 
conflict between the Patricians and the Plebeians furnishes 
them with all they remember about the government of the Ro- 
man Republic. What they learn first leaves the deeper impres- 
sion. Pedagogical reasons support considerations from history 
in favour of reducing the early history of Rome to a group of 
tales illustrating the echoes in tradition of the stormy career of 
the city on the Tiber, and to a brief description of what is actu- 
ally known about its early organization. 1 

As Italy was the basis of Roman power, its geography should 

first receive attention. The present generation has been so 

thoroughly trained in the idea of a united Italy 

Geography. . ° * . . . . _ . . 

that it fails to note the physical conformation of 

the country which has made union long doubtful. It is shut 
off from northern Europe by the Alps, and forms a distinct 
whole, but a whole broken up into parts by the Apennines and 
by the minor rivers, so that these parts were for centtfries able 
to maintain an historical separateness. For the Romans, Italy 
did not include the valley of the Po ; it was simply the penin- 
sula. Moreover, they had annexed Sicily, Sardinia, and Cor- 
sica, before they subdued what we call northern Italy. Another 
important fact of Italian geography is the slope of the peninsula 

1 Professor Seignobos, in his admirable text-book on VHistoire du 
Peuple Romaiti, for the use of the French schools, is careful to keep the 
distinction between history and legend before the minds of the pupils 
until they reach the period of authentic history. For example, instead 
of soberly telling the reforms of Servius Tullius, he says : " Legend of 
Servius Tullus. The sixth king, Servius Tullius, was regarded as an 
organizer," and adds, emphasizing the distinction by the use of smaller 
type, the stories of his work, his manner of obtaining the throne, his 
organization of the army in centuries, his wall, etc. Even the name of 
this king he treats as a legend. The history of Rome down to the First 
Punic war is briefly told, and the famous tales related always as tales, 
not as history. 



ROMAN HISTORY {TO A. D. 395) 235 

toward the west and southwest. The eastern valleys are short 
and rugged. Civilization grew up in the west. It was only in 
the extreme south, in what was called Magna Graecia, that the 
country invited the building of cities and the development of 
civilization. Italy has few harbours, and its people never were 
driven to the sea, as were the Greeks or the Phoenicians. 
Such facts, and the more detailed characteristics of mountain 
and river systems, should be understood before the historical 
work begins. 1 

Since the Romans created no rich mythology or body of 
legends like those of the Greeks, it may be advisable to begin 
with a brief study of what is actually known of early The Ancient 
Rome, its situation ; its neighbours, the Etruscans city ' 
and the Latins ; its social structure, supposed origin of the 
distinction between Patricians and Plebeians ; its officers, con- 
suls, and tribunes ; the dictatorship ; the senate ; its assemblies, 
comitia curiata, comitia centuriata, assembly of the Plebeians. 
Following this, there may be a description of the Roman re- 
ligion and religious customs, comparing and distinguishing 
these from those of the Greeks. 

After this is done, the pupil may study the three sets of 
stories, and the probable truth that underlies them, — the sto- 
ries of the regal period, of the early struggles of the Romans 
against their enemies, and of their domestic conflict growing 
out of the difference in rights between the Patricians and the 
Plebeians. 

It is possible to make the list of stories for the regal period 
long or short, according to the time at the disposal of the 
class. Some at least should be learned. 2 The following list is 
suggested : — 

Romulus; the twin brothers, death of Remus, Rape of the 
Sabine Women, treason of Tarpeia, union of Romans and 
Sabines. 



1 This preliminary survey can best be made by the aid of a relief or 
physical map. 

2 Macaulay's Lays of Ancient Rome, Guerber's Story of the Romans. 
For the teachers, these tales are well told in How and Leigh. 



236 ROMAN HISTORY (TO A. D. 395) 

Numa, the lawgiver ; the Nymph Egeria, the temple of Janus. 

Tullus, the warrior ; the Horatii and Curiatii, punishment of 
Mettus Fufetius and destruction of Alba. 

Ancus Martius ; legendary founder of Ostia, builder of the 
Pons Sublicius. 

Tarquin the Elder ; story of the eagle, legendary builder of 
the Circus Maximus and the Cloaca Maxima. 1 

Servius Tullius, the organizer ; his division of the people into 
centuries, his wall, 1 his death, and the conduct of his cruel 
daughter. 

Tarquin the Proud ; the story of the poppies, purchase of 
the Sybilline Books, the answer of the Delphic oracle, expulsion 
of the family. 

Stories of the early Republic : — 

Lars Porsenna, Horatius Codes, Mucius Scsevola. 

Battle of Lake Regillus, the Dioscuri. 

First Secession of the Plebeians (traditional date, 494). - 

Coriolanus. 

The Fabii (479?). 

Cincinnatus. 

The Decemvirs, Appius Claudius, Virginia (451-449?). 

The second Secession (449?). 

Siege of Veii and Camillus. 

Although many of the stories that were told of Roman 
prowess after the siege of Veii rested on no more secure foun- 
dation than the legend of Camillus, it is not so necessary to 
keep up the distinction, because few of them are as famous as 
the earlier stories, and there are more well-ascertained facts to 
which the pupil's attention should be directed. 2 

In the history of Rome, there are three processes which the 
teacher must never lose sight of, for together they make up the 
Lines of substance of the story. These are the development 

Development. Q f political society, the expansion of power, and 
the assimilation of conquered peoples ; or to state the matter 
more concretely, the growth and transformation of the consti- 



1 These are now regarded as later constructions. 

2 Professor Seignobos remarks, " The history of these wars is very 
imperfectly known ; the Romans, in regard to the conquest of Italy, knew 
scarcely anything save a few facts, mingled with many legends." P. 56. 



ROMAN HISTORY {TO A. D. 395) 237 

tution and the conquest and absorption of neighbouring states. 
The whole subject must be divided into somewhat different 
periods, according as one or another of these interests is domi- 
nant. If the constitution is the subject of study, the convenient 
periods are : 1, the early and obscure struggle for political 
equality, ending about the year 300 ; 2, the slow transforma- 
tion of society under the strain of the conquest of Italy, the 
Punic wars, the wars in Greece, etc. ; 3, the revolutions, from 
the Gracchi to Caesar; 4, the founding of the Empire; 5, the 
later Empire. With the expansion of Roman authority in 
mind, the divisions would be : 1, conquest of Latium ; 2, Italy 
subdued ; 3, conquest of Mediterranean basin ; 4, conquest 
of Gaul, Britain, Pannonia, Mcesia, Dacia, and the struggle to 
establish a military frontier on the north and east. 

There were also well marked stages in the growth of 
the policy of treating conquered communities. While the 
Romans were struggling for the mastery in Italy, Assimilation of 
though they sometimes ruthlessly slew or en- the Conquered, 
slaved the inhabitants of defeated rivals, sending Romans to 
take the place of the inhabitants, they occasionally conceded 
self-government to their defeated rivals, and in addition, either 
the full franchise at Rome, or the prospect of acquiring it, and 
if not that, at least all the other rights of Roman citizenship, or 
the position of allies free from the burden of tribute. This 
policy apparently lasted until after the war with Pyrrhus. It 
was succeeded by a policy of jealous exclusion from the rights 
of citizenship, which, however, the uprising of the Italians 
brought to a sudden close. 1 The assimilation of Italy south of 
the Po is fairly complete by 89 B.C. The provinces which were 
created after the First Punic war were given self-government, but 
were without protection against the rapacity of the Roman 
governors until Caesar reformed the provincial administration. 
From Caesar's time on the imperial power pushed the policy 
of assimilation vigorously until, in 212 a.d., the edict of Cara- 
calla granted citizenship to the inhabitants of all the provinces. 

1 For the reasons of the change, Mommsen, I. 538-539. 



238 ROMAN HISTORY {TO A. D. 395) 

Although it is unwise to encourage pupils in superficial gen- 
eralizations, the teacher should show them the relations of the 
individual incidents to the larger processes, which never ceased 
to go forward. 

If it be conceded that the pupil can but dimly picture to 
himself the development of the Roman constitution, it becomes 
The important to simplify the work that is demanded 

Constitution. of nim< The less s ig n i nca nt in the career of the 
city should be treated briefly or left out altogether. Accord- 
ingly, the early struggle between the Patricians and the Ple- 
beians must be subordinated to the character of the Republic 
in the third and second centuries. There should be enough 
of the undisputed facts to show the contrast between the old 
nobility of hereditary privilege, and the new nobility of wealth, 
which came into existence with the disappearance of the last 
barriers to Plebeian ambition, enough also to show the peculiar 
character of that unique institution, the tribunate. But it is the 
later Republic, the conqueror of the world, which must be 
comprehended. If the pupil can understand the way this 
Republic was managed by the senatorial oligarchy, he is likely 
to realize what the Gracchi aimed at, what Sulla did, and to 
see how the condition of the city and the machinery of gov- 
ernment gave an opportunity for a< man of genius, like Caesar 
or Octavian, to seize autocratic power. 

What are the principal topics for the study of the constitu- 
tion of the Republic ? The senate and the tribunate, the rela- 
tion of the senate to the magistracies, to elections of magistrates, 
particularly its use of the tribunes, and the opportunity in the 
tribunate for an attack on the senatorial oligarchy, the function 
of the assemblies and their control by the senate through the 
magistrates. The early Empire should be explained on the basis 
of the interpretation of these Republican magistracies, and in this 
way the pupil will not think into it all the associations of the word 
emperor. In contrast to this stands the Empire after the work 
of Diocletian and Constantine. The warning must be repeated, 
that all this should be treated in very elementary fashion, for 



ROMAN HISTORY {TO A.D. 395) 239 

high school pupils have no political experience to assist them 
in interpreting the experience of the Romans. While the 
teacher should look at the constitution as a whole, most of the 
actual instruction about it should be incidental to the general 
history of Rome. It is better to note what the senate does 
from time to time, than to be content with a description of its 
powers. The history of the tribunate may be studied with 
particular advantage in this way, for many famous tribunes 
appear in the history of the city, C. Licinius Stolo, Gaius 
Flaminius, Tiberius and Caius Gracchus, Marcus Octavius, 
Saturninus, Marcus Livius Drusus, Publius Clodius, etc. When- 
ever opportunity offers, the teacher may correct and complete 
the ideas in regard to the government that the pupil has 
previously received, although he must avoid the error of for- 
getting that an office or an institution may undergo change and 
development. 

The expansion of the Roman power follows steadily the 
career of the city, so that looking at the process as a whole, it 
is enough to see that at a certain time Rome was 
supreme in Latium, at another she extended her 
influence into southern Italy, and won control of the entire 
peninsula, and that next she began to acquire territories outside, 
which were held as conquered provinces. This last movement 
was not to be checked until the ancient civilized world was 
brought under Roman sway, and until the Germans destroyed 
the legions of Varus in the Teutoburg forest. 

As Roman territory is pushed gradually to the confines of 
Italy, and afterwards from shore to shore of the Mediterranean, 
the terms which were granted to the conquered should be em- 
phasized, so that the whole process of assimilation will become 
intelligible. 

It is necessary now to indicate the topics which should be 
emphasized. 

Early struggles : The early Roman army, in contrast to the 
Spartan army and the Macedonian phalanx ; probable time at 
which Latium was conquered ; significance of the capture of 



240 ROMAN HISTORY {TO A.D. 395) 

Veii ; Allia and the capture of Rome by the Gauls, legends 
about the siege of the Capitol. 1 

The Licinian laws give at least one consul to the Plebeians 
(367) ; further steps toward equality of the two orders • the 
Hortensian law (286) ; tendency toward substitution of a 
nobility of office-holders for a nobility of birth. 

Conquest of central Italy : Caere, Caeritan rights ; revolt of 
the Latins, terms granted them (338) \ Latin rights, Roman 
maritime colonies ; Samnite wars, the story of the Caudine 
Forks, the battle of Sentinum (295), results, status of Samnites 
as allies, annexation of Sabine Territory, Roman territory ex- 
tends to Adriatic, colony of Venusia ; punishment of the Gauls. 

Conquest of southern Italy : review history of Magna Graecia 
from point of view of Greek history, review its relations to 
Sicily ; Tarentum ; cause of presence of Roman fleet in Taren- 
tine waters ; Pyrrhus, his relation to Alexander's empire ; 
Heraclea (280), and Beneventum (275); terms granted to 
Greek cities. Review different terms thus far conceded to con- 
quered rivals, and extent of Roman power prior to Punic wars. 2 

Conqi/est of Mediterranean Basin : Punic wars : review Car- 
thage in relation to Tyre ; size of Carthaginian empire in 265, 
former wars between Syracuse and the Carthaginians ; previous 
relations of the Romans and the Carthaginians; intervention at 
Messina and successes on land ; creation of a fleet, Mylse 
(260); Regulus "carries the war into Africa," legend of his 
embassy and death ; Drepana (249), and the legend of the 
sacred chickens; ^Egates (241); terms of peace. Revolt of 
the Mercenaries and the seizure of Sardinia. 3 

Conquest of Cis- Alpine Gaul, and its causes. 

Provincial system : theory under which land was held, local 
rights, independent communities (Syracuse during life of Hiero), 
powers of governor ; opportunities for corruption. 4 

Second Punic war : Hamilcar's attempt to build up an em- 
pire for Carthage in Spain ; Hannibal ; attack on Saguntum 



1 Brief criticism of the legends, How and Leigh, 87-88. 

2 See particularly Mommsen, I. 535 ff., for a discussion of the status 
of the conquered towns and the colonies. Briefer statement, How and 
Leigh, 133-135. 

3 Bosworth Smith, Carthage ; A. J. Church, Carthage (in Stones of the 
Nations) ; Ihne's History of Rome gives special attention to Carthage. 
Selections from Polybius on the First Punic War in Fling, Studies, I., 
No. 7. 

* Mommsen, II. 82-88. 



ROMAN HISTORY {TO A.D. 395) 241 

(219); passage of the Alps ; battles of Trebia (218), Trasimenus 
(217), and Cannae (216) ; Fabius, the Cunctator ; Hannibal in 
the south, steadfastness of the allies and Latin colonies ; Syra- 
cuse goes over to the Carthaginians, is captured (212); Han- 
nibal loses Capua (211) and Tarentura (209), battle on the 
Metaurus (207) ; war in Africa, battle of Zama (202), Scipio 
Africanus; terms of peace, annexations; Hannibal's subse- 
quent career. 1 

In studying the First and Second Punic wars, the teacher 
should concentrate the attention of the class upon those features 
of the struggle which appeal to the imagination and SecondPullic 
the intelligence, the Roman method of conduct- War. 
ing sea fights, the structure of ships of war, Hannibal's strategy, 
particularly on the Trebia, at Lake Trasimenus, and at Cannae. 
If this is successfully done, these names of battles will be 
given a distinctive meaning and will serve to throw light on 
the ancient art of war in its various forms. The career of 
Hannibal is probably the chapter in all Roman history most 
interesting to young people, for it possesses the heroic pic- 
turesqueness so characteristic of Greek history. This fact 
should be made use of to tide the interest of the pupil over 
pages of soberer political development. Moreover, there are 
so many famous battles in the history of Rome that it is 
necessary to select only the most notable for special explana- 
tion, otherwise the subject will be transformed into a long 
series of battles and annexations. The same remark is ap- 
plicable to the wars which closely followed until Rome practi- 
cally controlled the basin of the Mediterranean. 

War with Macedon : review Macedon from death of Alex- 
ander the Great to the beginning of the second century ; atti- 
tude of king of Macedon during the Second Punic war; 
Cynoscephalae (197), the reason the Macedonian phalanx 
did not prove invincible; peace without annexation and the 
Congress at Corinth. 

War with Antiochus the Great: Magnesia (190) ; collapse 
of the empire of the Seleucidae. 

1 From a military point of view, Hannibal, by Theodore A. Dodge. 

16 



242 ROMAN HISTORY {TO A. D. 395) 

Later conquests: Macedonian Monarchy destroyed (168) ; 
Greece becomes a Roman province (146) ; review later Greek 
history to this point. 

Destruction of Carthage (146) ; conduct of the Romans in 
this affair ; province of Africa. 

Kingdom of Pergamus bequeathed to Rome (133) ; the prov- 
ince of Asia. 

Province of Narbonne in southern Gaul, created after strug- 
gles with the Allobroges and the Arverni (121). 1 

Rome now had a province on every shore of the Mediter- 
ranean basin, although in the east the kingdom of Egypt still 
existed, as well as the remnants of the empire of Antiochus the 
Great, and although the farther east was threatened by the rise of 
Mithradates, king of the Parthians. Each of the wars in the 
long list from the beginning of the Second Punic war was the 
natural sequel of the struggle which had just preceded. This 
connection is more important than the details of the fighting. 
A careful geographical survey of what had been accomplished 
during the period, together with a resume of the characteristics 
of the Roman administration of provinces, may bring the sub- 
ject to a close. 

These wars affected the character of the Roman Republic. 

It is accordingly necessary at this point in the development of 

the city to look into the structure of the govern- 

infiuence me nt, the economic results of such continuous 
upon Rome. ' 

fighting, the inevitable growth of a standing army, 
with a strong military spirit, the condition and characteristics 
of the inhabitants of Rome itself, the changes in the interests of 
the people produced by prosperity and by contact with the 
eastern nations, particularly with Greece. 

Structure of society : the nobles, what conferred nobility, dis- 
tinction from old Patrician nobility ; possibility of becoming 
ennobled, nobles are the only senators. 

Knights : original meaning of the term, meaning after rich 
men cease to serve in the cavalry, opportunities offered at Rome 



1 On the later phases of this process, Mommsen, III. 13-91. 



ROMAN HISTORY {TO A.D. 395) 243 

or in the provinces for gaining riches, money-lending and con- 
tracting, farming the taxes, publicans. 

Plebeians: ancient Plebs, new urban Plebs, effects of the 
Samnite and Second Punic wars upon the small freeholders, 
growth of great estates at their expense, narrow opportunity 
for free labor, means of support, privileges as Roman citizens. 

Slaves : when they begin to form a relatively large element 
of the population, origin of the supply, kinds of work which 
they performed, treatment by their masters, freedmen. 1 

Machinery of government : senate, composition, precedence 
among senators, attitude of senators toward new men, their 
influence over the magistrates, their relation to a young man 
ambitious to succeed in the cursus honorum, particularly their 
relation to the tribunes in distinction from the ancient antag- 
onism between the aristocracy and the tribunate, their control 
of legislation through the magistrates. 

Magistrates : cursus honorum, powers of the censor over 
the status of the individual citizen, the consuls and their 
duties, their relation to the comitia centuriata ; the tribunes, 
their powers and their ordinary use of these, their control of 
the concilium plebis or assembly of the Plebeians. 

Asse?nblies : comitia curiata, and the duties that remained to 
it, comitia centuriata and the officers elected by it, with its 
part in legislation ; concilium plebis, the usual medium of legis- 
lation, called and controlled by the tribunes. 2 

A further study may be made of the influence of Greek 
culture upon the Romans, but this need be touched only inci- 
dentally in an elementary course. 

From 133 to the fall of the Republic the dominant interest 
centres in the political controversies within the city, rather than 
in the further extension of Roman territory east- to the Fall of 
ward and northward. For example, the extraor- the Republic. 
dinary powers which Pompey received belong quite as much, if 
not more, to the growth of personal authority in Rome than to 
the suppression of piracy in the eastern Mediterranean, or the 



1 Mommsen, III. 92-108 ; on all phases of the subject, How and 
Leigh, 287-331; Pelham, 158-198. 

2 References already given ; and Tighe, Roman Constitution ; Fowler, 
City-State ; How and Leigh, Appendix I. Assemblies at Rome. 



244 ROMAN HISTORY {TO A.D. 395) 

conclusion of the war with Mithradates. But the pupil must 
note, as he proceeds, the widening of the domain, so that at 
the end he may understand the steps by which the whole terri- 
tory was brought together. In order to give unity to the treat- 
ment of the period, it is advisable to consider the different 
political controversies in the light of the existing structure of 
society and control of government, and in the light of the sub- 
sequent fate of the Republic. This might be a wrong method 
for mature students, because slight tendencies gain a factitious 
importance if they afterwards appear as prophecies of future 
change, but the elementary pupil can grasp only the large out- 
lines of a political movement, and events must be placed clearly 
in their relations to one another if he is to see their significance. 
A chronological table will bring out the time relations of the 
revolutionary struggles of the last century of the Republic. 
Marius and Sulla were scarcely out of their childhood when 
the Gracchan revolution came to an end; Caesar, Pompey, 
and Crassus learned politics from Marius and Sulla ; and a 
new generation of politicians — Antony, Lepidus, and Octa- 
vian — seized the power that fell from Caesar's hands. It 
is true the conditions rather than the men were chiefly re- 
sponsible for what occurred, and yet the personal relation 
of these groups of lives is not without significance. Such 
chronological resume's may be multiplied to advantage with 
useful results. 

The following topics will bring out chiefly the revolutionary 
struggles from 133 to 27, mentioning incidentally the additions 
to Roman territory. 

Tiberius Gracchus (133), his solution of the land problem, 
creation of small farms out of public land illegally occupied \ 
the use of the tribunician power to veto the schemes of 
Gracchus, which forces him to a coup d'etat, he is slain by a 
mob of nobles. 

Caius Gracchus (1 23-1 21), attack on the senate, attempt 
to substitute his personal rule by a retention of the tribunate 
with its power, failure of re-election, fighting in Rome during 
which he is killed. 



ROMAN HISTORY {TO A. D. 395) 245 

The attempt to retain the tribunician power, and through a 
bold use of the concilium plebis, the law-making body, to re- 
construct the constitution, anticipated the policy 
of Caesar and Octavian a century later. 1 Caius 
Gracchus did not control the military power. Here lay the 
difference, but his enterprise was equally revolutionary. It was 
more radical than would be a reconstruction of the British con- 
stitution by some prime minister who was ready to use his 
unique power, provided he could have the support of his ma- 
jority in the Commons. 

With the exception of the sedition of the year 100, which 
was a repetition of the Gracchan conflict in a less respectable 
form, the interval between the death of Gracchus and the Sul- 
lan revolution is filled with new wars, the war with Jugurtha, 2 
with the Cimbri and Teutones, a premonition of the danger 
which threatened from the north and which was later to destroy 
the Roman state, and the far more important struggle with the 
Italians, as a consequence of which Roman citizenship was 
granted to all the inhabitants of what was then known as Italy, 
and the admirable system of local self-government in muni- 
cipalities was created. This new policy towards the Italians 
should be carefully explained, because it marks an epoch in 
the assimilation of conquered peoples. 3 

Sullan revolution (88-78) : Sulpician attack on the senate 
and attempt to take from Sulla the command in the Mithra- 
datic war ; this attempt defeated by Sulla's army, significance 
of this use of troops; behaviour of the Marian party while 
Sulla was in Asia, his triumphant return, proscriptions and 
dictatorship, personal government in behalf of the aristocracy 
(as Caius Gracchus attempted to establish personal government 
in behalf of the popular party), strengthening of the senate, 
attack on the tribunate ; abdication of Sulla. 

Preliminaries of Ccesar's career : Pompey and Crassus, their 



1 On the Gracchi, How and Leigh, 343~3S7- 

2 Fling, Studies, I. No. 8, contains selections from SaMust'sJugurthine 
War. 

3 How and Leigh, 407-408 ; Mommsen, III. 299-302. 



246 ROMAN HISTORY {TO A. D. 

relation to Sulla, extraordinary powers conferred on Pompey 
in the east (67) ; Cicero and the conspiracy of Catiline ; 
Caesar's relation to Marius and Sulla, enters the political com- 
bination known as the First Triumvirate (60), his consulship 
and the beginnings of his conquest of Gaul, conference at 
Lucca (59), Pompey remains in Italy instead of going to his 
province, growing antagonism of Pompey and Caesar after 
death of Crassus, scheme to destroy Caesar ; civil war (49), 
powers conferred on Caesar during the war, Pharsalia (empha- 
sized), Thapsus and Munda (referred to and located geograph- 
ically to make clear the comprehensiveness of Caesar's opera- 
tions), Caesar becomes imperator, his use of the different 
magistracies conferred upon him \ character of his policy and 
reforms ; death (44). 

Establishment of the Empire: Second Triumvirate (43), 
clash between Antony and Octavian, Actium ; Octavian resigns 
his position as triumvir, receives the name of Augustus (27), 
special power conferred upon him, share of power left with 
the senate, character of the early Empire. 1 

At the conclusion of the study of the establishment of the 
Empire should come a review of the characteristics of the Au- 
gustan Age, its literature in connection with that which imme- 
diately preceded, its religious tendencies, its public works, the 
condition of the people, and the social problems which the 
government must face. 

It would be well to review the provinces of the Empire, 
especially noting those which had been added since the con- 



1 According to Bury, the Principate, the technical name of the early 
imperial authority (Octavian was Princeps), rested (a) on the proconsular 
imperium, [b) the tribunician power, (c) the special laws de imperio 
(23 B. a). By one of these special laws his imperium was defined as 
maius or superior. He probably also received the ius edicendi, or right 
of issuing magisterial edicts. He could convene the senate, and could 
make the first motion, ius primae relationis. But he refused the censor- 
ship because he desired to preserve the senate as an independent body. 
He could control its acts, however, by his veto as tribune. The senate, 
therefore, becomes the real legislative body, issuing senatus-consulta. 
Senatorial committees formed a sort of cabinet. The new imperial 
treasury " had to defray the costs of the provincial administration, the 
maintenance of the army, the fleets, the corn supply," etc. The Student's 
Roman Empire, chapters 2, 3. 



ROMAN HISTORY {TO A. D. 395) 247 

quest of the Mediterranean basin had been effected, and 

to explain how these provinces were divided between the 

senate and the emperor. In this connection the 

r . . . , Provinces. 

work of Augustus in strengthening the northern 

frontier should be considered, as well as his failure to push the 
frontier to the Elbe. 

To the pupil, the period of the Empire must be confusing, 
if not altogether incomprehensible, unless the matter is care- 
fully organized, and unless a judicious selection be 

j ° Empire, 

made from the list of emperors of those whose 

names should be permanently remembered. If the history be 
told chronologically by reigns, the task for the memory will be 
hopeless. It may be difficult to say just what emperors should 
be remembered, although this is not a question of how many 
the scholar should know, but of how many it is possible for the 
boy or girl of fifteen to retain distinct impressions about. 
Several of the most picturesque villains may at once be elimi- 
nated, for their personality did not necessarily damage the 
imperial administrative machinery, and was therefore relatively 
without importance. Others who are generally known for noth- 
ing except the startling way in which they attained the purple 
or lost it may also be omitted. These characteristic cases can 
be summed up in the symbolic history of one or two, with an 
explanation of the frequency of such incidents. 

Which emperors are best worth noting ? After Augustus : — 
Tiberius, Nero, Vespasian, Titus, Trajan, Hadrian, Marcus 
Aurelius, Decius, Aurelian, Diocletian, Constantine, and Theo- 
dosius. Each of these men has some significance : Tiberius as 
the organizer of the imperial administration, Nero for himself 
and his evil deeds, Titus because of his capture of Jerusalem, 
Trajan, Hadrian, and Marcus Aurelius as examples of the Em- 
pire at its best, Decius for his vigorous effort to stamp out 
Christianity, Aurelian because of his restoration of imperial 
authority after its long eclipse, Diocletian and Constantine the 
reorganizers, and Theodosius because of his success in staying 
temporarily the forces of disintegration. 



248 ROMAN HISTORY (TO A. D. 395) 

The general subjects which should be made clear are : the 
wars for a better military frontier, the Roman army, the devel- 
opment of the Roman administrative system, roads, aqueducts, 
and other public works, growth of the Roman law, attitude of 
the Empire toward the Christians, transformation in the structure 
of the Empire itself. 

First century of the Empire : review the provinces added by 
Augustus, Tiberius (14-37) abandons the Elbe frontier and 
makes the Rhine the northern boundary, his work in organizing 
the administration, causes of his later tyrannical conduct, Seja- 
nus; conquest of Britain; Nero (54-68), characteristics of his 
career, the burning of Rome (64), the attempt to throw the 
odium of this upon the Christians ; 1 insurrection against 
Nero ; Vespasian in Judea, his character as emperor, capture 
of Jerusalem (70); Titus (79-81); conquest of Britain, the 
marking out of a limes' 1 between the Rhine and the Danube. 

The "five good emperors'" (96-180): Trajan's conquest of 
Dacia (106) ; Trajan's attitude toward the Christians; the liter- 
ary men of the " Silver Age," Tacitus, Pliny, 8 Juvenal ; 

1 The account of the Neronian persecution by Tacitus and in Pliny's 
correspondence with Trajan, illustrating the Flavian attitude, are found 
in the Pennsylvania Translations and Reprints, IV. no. I, and in 
Fling, European History Studies, II. no. 1. Here is a case where 
the study of the sources is beset by peculiar difficulties. It is natural 
for the teacher to take up first the account of the Neronian persecution, 
because it came first, and to regard the remarks of Tacitus by them- 
selves and simply in relation to the subject he is describing. But it is a 
fact that Tacitus wrote his account after the letters of Pliny and Trajan 
were written, and that Tacitus received some of his impressions of the 
Christians from this investigation in Bithynia. Consequently, if the 
teacher wishes to explain the attitude of cultivated Romans towards 
the Christians, he should take up Pliny's letter first. If the teacher 
wants to study what took place, the account in Tacitus must come first, 
although Tacitus, for the events of the Neronian persecution, must be 
regarded as an historian, rather than as a " source," for he was a mere 
child at the time of the fire, and must have got his information from 
others many years after the event. The teacher should read carefully 
Ramsay, 197 ff., and 227 ff. Undoubtedly these two pieces of material 
have a great intrinsic value in arousing interest, but at the same time 
they must be handled with scholarly consideration. 

2 See Mommsen, Roman Provinces. 

3 Fling, European History Studies, I. No. 9, contains selections from 
Pliny's administrative correspondence with Trajan. 



ROMAN HISTORY {TO A.D. 895) 249 

Hadrian (11 7-138) as an administrator, "Hadrian's wall"; 
Marcus Aurelius (1 61-180), character, attitude toward Chris- 
tians, death of Polycarp and persecution at Lyons (177), 
Marcoraanic war (a premonition of future troubles on the 
frontiers). 

Co?idition of the Empire at the beginning of the third century : 
destruction of the Praetorian Guards, the Prefects Papinian and 
Ulpian, and the development of Roman law ; gradual loss of 
authority by the senate ; disappearance of the middle classes, 
the peasantry sinking towards serfdom ; Christianity and the 
Decian persecution, Cyprian of Carthage. 1 

Transformation of the Empire : confusion in the disposition 
of the imperial power between 180 and 270; new enemies on 
the east, Persia and Palmyra, Zenobia; Aurelian (270-275) 
restores the authority of the Empire and drives back its ene- 
mies; the Bagaudae in Gaul; Diocletian's (284-305) scheme 
of imperial reform, the emperor becomes an oriental monarch, 
reorganization of the provinces and the assimilation of Italy to 
other parts of the Empire for purposes of taxation, the army 
given a separate organization distinct from the government of 
provinces ; Diocletian's systematic attempt to destroy Chris- 
tianity. 2 

Constantine (306-337) and afterwards: rise of Constantine, 
his early reforms, edict of toleration, 8 adoption of Christianity, 
position of the adherents of older religions after Christianity is 
made the official religion; council of Nicea; 3 founding of 
Constantinople ; Julian, his struggle against the Germans, his 
"apostacy" ; settlement of the Goths in Mcesia, causes of their 
revolt, Hadrianople (378) ; Theodosius (378-395). 

1 In Perm. Tr. & Rp., IV. No. 1, are accounts of the Martyrdoms at 
Lyons and Vienne, Lactantius on the death of Decius, Cyprian's Letter, 
just before his death, and an account of his martyrdom. 

a Penn. Tr. & Rp., IV. No. 1, contains the accounts of Diocletian's 
edicts given in Eusebius. The same number contains the Edict of 
Toleration by Galerius (311), and the Decree of Milan (313). 

3 See Penn. Tr. & Rp., IV. No. 2, for creed and canons of Nicea. 
In Isaac Boyle's Historical View of the Council of Nice, there are several 
letters translated from the ecclesiastical historians Socrates and Theo- 
doret, and which are unusually interesting. They are from Alexander, 
Bishop of Alexandria; from Constantine to Alexander and Arius ; 
from Arius to Eusebius, Bishop of Nicomedia ; from Eusebius, Bishop 
of Nicomedia, to Paulinus, Bishop of Tyre ; and two other letters from 
Constantine. C. F. Cruse's Ed. of Eusebius, Philadelphia : Lippincott. 
1865. 



250 ROMAN HISTORY {TO A.D. 395) 

List of dates which may be committed to memory : — 

b.c. 753. Traditional date for the founding of Rome. 

509. Traditional date for the founding of the Republic. 
390. Battle of Allia and burning of Rome by the Gauls. 
338. Dissolution of the Latin Confederacy ; partial assimi- 
lation of the Latins. 
290. Samnites defeated ; become allies. 
272. Romans conquer Tarentum and become masters of 

Italy. 
264. Outbreak of the Punic wars. 
218. Beginning of Hannibal's campaign in Italy. 
202. Defeat of Hannibal at Zama. 

197. Battle of Cynoscephalse ; defeat of the Macedonians. 
190. Battle of Magnesia ; defeat of Antiochus the Great. 
168. Battle of Pydna and destruction of the Macedonian 

monarchy. 
146. Greece becomes a Roman province, Corinth de- 
stroyed ; Carthage destroyed, the province of 
Africa created. 
133. Rome receives bequest of kingdom of Pergamus and 
creates province of Asia ; attempts at reform by 
Tiberius Gracchus, his death. 
89. Citizenship granted the Italians at end of Social war. 
82. Sulla becomes dictator. 
58. Caesar begins the conquest of Gaul. 
49. Civil war breaks out between Caesar and Pompey. 
44. Assassination of Caesar. 
31. Battle of Actium. 
27. Beginning of the Empire. 
a.d. 64. The Great Fire in Rome, first persecution of Chris- 
tians. 
98. Trajan becomes emperor. 
180. Death of Marcus Aurelius. 
284. Beginning of Diocletian's reign and reforms. 
312. Battle of the Milvian Bridge; Constantine becomes 

sole emperor. 
325. Council of Nicea. 
378. Battle of Hadrianople. 
395. Death of Theodosius. 



CHAPTER XV 

MEDIAEVAL HISTORY 

BIBLIOGRAPHY. 

Sources : — 

Anglo-Saxon Chronicle. London, G. Bell & Son. New York, The 
Macmillan Co. 

Chronicles of the Crusades. Contains among others Joinville's Life 
of St. Louis. London, G. Bell & Son. New York, Macmillan. 

Eginhard. Life of Charlemagne. Trans, by Turner. New York, 
American Book Co. 

Fling, F. M. European History Studies : Civilization during the 
Middle Ages, selections made by Guernsey Jones. Ten numbers, sold 
separately. Chicago, Ainsworth. 

Froissart. Edited by G. C. Macaulay. London and New York, 
Macmillan. 

Henderson, E. F. Historical Documents of the Middle Ages. 
London, G. Bell & Son. New York, The Macmillan Co. 

Indiana, University of. Extracts from the Sources. Published by 
the Department of History. 

Pennsylvania, University of. Translations and Reprints from the 
Original Sources. Published by the Department of History. New 
York, Longmans. Sold separately or in volumes. 

See also Sources under English History. 

Larger General Works : — 

Bury, J. B. History of the Later Roman Empire. 2 vols. London 
and New York, Macmillan. 

Creighton, M. History of the Papacy during the Reformation. The 
first five volumes cover the period from about 1300 to 1517. 6 vols. 
London and New York, Longmans, Green & Co. 

Finlay, G. History of Greece from its Conquest by the Romans 
until the Present Time (1864). 7 vols. Oxford, Clarendon Press. 

Freeman, E. A. History of the Norman Conquest. 6 vols. Oxford, 
Clarendon Press. 

Gibbon, Edward. The Decline and Fall of the Roman Empire. 
Bury ed. 7 vols. London and New York, Macmillan. 

Gregorovius, F. History of the City of Rome in the Middle Ages. 
6 vols. London, G. Bell & Son. New York, The Macmillan Co. 

Guizot, F. History of Civilization. Hazlitt Tr. 3 vols. London, 
G. Bell & Son. New York, Macmillan. 



252 MEDIEVAL HISTORY 

Hodgkin, T. Italy and her Invaders. 6 vols. Oxford, Clarendon 
Press. 

Milman, H. H. History of Latin Christianity. 8 vols, in 4. London, 
J. Murray. New York, A. C. Armstrong & Son. 

Schaff, P. History of the Christian Church. 7 vols. Edinburgh, 
T. & T. Clark. New York, Scribner. 

Symonds, J. A. The Renaissance in Italy. 7 vols. London, Smith, 
Elder & Co. New York, Holt & Co. 

Briefer Works : — 

Adams, G. B. Civilization during the Middle Ages. New York, 
Charles Scribner's Sons. London, D. Nutt. 

Beard, C. Martin Luther. London, Kegan Paul. 

Bryce, James. The Holy Roman Empire. London and New York, 
Macmillan. 

Burckhardt, J. The Civilization of the Renaissance. New York, The 
Macmillan Co. 

Dill, Samuel. Roman Society in the Last Century of the Western 
Empire. London and New York, Macmillan. 

Emerton, E. Medieval Europe. Boston, Ginn & Co. 

Fisher, Geo. P. History of the Christian Church. New York, 
Charles Scribner's Sons. London, Hodder & Stoughton. 

Hodgkin, T. The Dynasty of Theodosius. Oxford, Clarendon 
Press. 

Hodgkin, T. Theodoric the Goth. New York, G. P. Putnam's 
Sons. 

Hodgkin, T. Charles the Great. Macmillan. 

Johnson, A. H. Europe in the Sixteenth Century. 1494-1598. Lon- 
don, Rivingtons. New York, Macmillan. 

Kostlin, J. Life of Luther. London, Longmans, Green & Co. 

Lodge, R. The Close of the Middle Ages. 1272-1494. London, 
Rivingtons, New York, Macmillan. 

Morison, J. C. St. Bernard. London, Macmillan & Co. 

Oman, C. W. C. The Dark Ages. A. D. 476-918. London, Riving- 
tons. . New York, Macmillan. 

Robinson, J. H. Petrarch. London and New York, G. P. Putnam's 
Sons. 

Seebohm, P. The Protestant Revolution. London and New York, 
Longmans. 

Taylor, H. O. The Classical Heritage of the Middle Ages. Macmillan. 

Tout, T. P. The Empire and the Papacy, a. d. 918-1272. London, 
Rivingtons. New York, Macmillan. 

England: — 

Sources : — 

Colby, C. W. Selections from the Sources of English History. 
London and New York, Longmans, Green & Co. 



MEDIEVAL HISTORY 253 

Kendall, Elizabeth K. Source Book of English History. London 
and New York, Macmillan. 

Lee, G. C, Source Book of English History. New York, Henry 
Holt & Co. 

Powell, F. York. English History by Contemporary Writers : 
Edward III. and his Wars, by W. J. Ashley. Misrule of Henry III., 
by W. H. Hutton. Simon de Montfort and his Cause, by J. Hutton. 
Crusade of Richard I., by T. A. Archer, and others. London, D. Nutt. 
General : — 

Ashley, W. J. English Economic History. 2 vols. London, Long- 
mans, Green & Co. 

Bright, J. F. History of England. 4 vols. London and New York, 
Longmans, Green & Co. 

Cunningham, W. Growth of English Industry and Commerce. 

2 vols. Cambridge, University Press. New York, Macmillan. 

Feilden, H. St. Clair. A Short Constitutional History of England. 
London, Blackwell. Boston, Ginn & Co. 

Gardiner, S. K. A Student's History of England. London and New 
York, Longmans, Green & Co. 

Green, J. R. History of the English People. 4 vols. London and 
New York, Macmillan. Also, A Short History of the English People. 
London and New York, Macmillan. Also an illustrated edition of this 
in 4 vols. 

Macy, Jesse. The English Constitution. London and New York, 
Macmillan. 

Stubbs, "William. Constitutional History of England (to Henry VII.). 

3 vols. Oxford, Clarendon Press. 

Taswell-Langmead. English Constitutional History. London, Ste- 
vens & Haynes. Boston, Houghton, Mifflin & Co. 

Traill, H. D. Social England. 6 vols. London, Cassell & Co. 
New York, G. P. Putnam's Sons. 
Special Periods : — 

Creighton, M. Simon de Montfort. London and New York, 
Longmans, Green & Co. 

Freeman, E. A. Short History of the Norman Conquest. Oxford, 
Clarendon Press. 

Stubbs, William. The Early Plantagenets. London and New York, 
Longmans, Green & Co. 

Trevelyan, G. M. The Age of Wycliffe. London and New York, 
Longmans, Green & Co. 

Scotland : — 

Brown, P. Hume. Scotland. Cambridge, University Press. New 
York, The Macmillan Co. 

Ireland : — 

Morris, W. O'C. Ireland. Cambridge, University Press. New 
York, The Macmillan Co. 



254 MEDIAEVAL HISTORY 

France : — 

Adams, G. B. Growth of the French Nation. London and New 
York, Macmillan. 

Baird, H. M. Rise of the Huguenots. 2 vols. New York, Charles 
Scribner's Sons. London, Hodder & Stoughton. 

Duruy, V. A History of France. New York, T. Y. Crowell & Co. 

Grant, A. J. History of the French Monarchy, 1483-1789. 2 vols. 
Cambridge, University Press. New York, The Macmillan Co. 

Guizot, F. History of France. London, S. Low & Co. 

Hassall, A. Student's History of France. 

Kitchin, G. "W. History of France. 3 vols. Oxford, Clarendon 
Press. 

Germany : — 

Henderson, E. F. History of Germany in the Middle Ages. London, 
G. Bell & Sons. New York, The Macmillan Co. 

Spain .' — 

Burke, U. G. History of Spain. 2 vols. 2d ed. London and 
New York, Longmans, Green & Co. 

Lane-Poole, S. The Moors in Spain. London, T. F. Unwin. New 
York, G. P. Putnam's Sons. 

Italy: — 

Brown, H. F. Venice. London, Rivingtons. New York, G. P. 
Putnam's Sons. 

Duffy, B. Tuscan Republics. London, T. F. Unwin. New York, 
G. P. Putnam's Sons. 
Byzantine Empire : — 

Oman, C. W. C. Byzantine Empire. London, T. F. Unwin. New 
York, G. P. Putnam's Sons. 

Pears, E. The Fall of Constantinople. London, Longmans, Green & 
Co. New York, Harper and Bros. 

Other Works: — 

Compayrd, G. Abelard and the Origin of the Universities. London, 
W. Heinemann. New York, Charles Scribner's Sons. 

Lane, E. W. Selections from the Kuran. London, Triibner & Co. 

Muir, Sir W. Mahomet and Islam. London, The Religious Tract 
Soc. New York, F. H. Revell Co. 

Rashdall, H. The Universities of Europe in the Middle Ages. 3 vols. 
Oxford, Clarendon Press. 

Guides : — 

Getchell, M. S. The Study of Mediaeval History by the Library 
Method. Boston, Ginn & Co. 

Hassall, A. European History (476-1871). London and New York, 
Macmillan. 

Munro, D. C. Syllabus of Mediaeval History. Department of His- 
tory : University of Pennsylvania. New York, Longmans. 



MEDIAEVAL HISTORY 2$$ 

Maps and Atlases : — 

Spruner-Bretschneider Historical Wall Maps. Ten, each sixty-two by 
fifty-two inches. Cover period from 350 A. D. to 181 5. 

The Kiepert and Sydow-Habenicht Physical maps will be found very 
useful for this period, see Chap. XII. 

Besides the atlases already mentioned and which cover this period 
also, there is in course of publication the Historical Atlas of Modern 
Europe, edited by Stanley Lane-Poole, in thirty parts. 

Gardiner, S. R. School Atlas of English History. London and 
New York, Longmans, Green & Co. 



The course for the second year in the secondary school is 

beset by uncertainties. Even those who urge that history be 

given during each of the four years are not agreed 

v, , t , ,a ' , to Difficulties. 

either upon what should come the second year or 

just what ground this course should cover. Some wish a course 
in mediaeval and modern history, others in English history. 
If mediaeval and modern history be chosen, the period at which 
it should begin is a matter of discussion, the more recent 
schemes adopting the date of Charlemagne's death as the start- 
ing-point, but others still adhering to the traditional line of 
division between the ancient and mediaeval world. Those who 
would put English history in the second year and mediaeval and 
modern history in the third must include in English history a 
broader view of Continental affairs, and in the European history 
will pass rapidly over the mediaeval period, as partially treated 
already, to reach the time when England and Europe are no 
longer so closely connected. Such variations in the plans of 
programme reformers, and many more variations in the actual 
practice of teachers, make it impossible to map out the work 
for a course in general European history which shall fit each 
case. 

The present chapter will suggest methods of treating the 
events from 395 a. d., to the middle of the sixteenth century. 
It is not intended to argue that the interval between 
these dates be generally considered a distinct period. 
The division is adopted largely for convenience, and in order 
that the principal theme of the course marked out for the third 



256 MEDIEVAL HISTORY 

year may be the founding of America as a phase of English and 
European history. 

It is true, also, that the mediaeval system was destroyed, not 
at the outset of the Renaissance and the Reformation, but after 
their success had become acknowledged in such public trans- 
actions as the Religious Peace of Augsburg, Elizabeth's Acts 
of Supremacy and Uniformity, and the French edicts early in 
Charles Ninth's reign that gave the Huguenots a legal existence. 

The Middle Ages should be given a distinct treatment, 
whether they form the subject of a separate course or are only 
one topic in a course on general history. They constitute a 
period with well-marked characteristics, and are neither a mere 
continuation of the Roman imperial era nor a dark gulf sep- 
arating the ancient and the modern world. 

There is some advantage in studying this period through 
English or French history, for the development of national life 
offers an element of continuity which preserves the 
pupil from the sense of confusion. And there are 
few phases of mediaeval history which cannot be illustrated from 
the history of England and particularly from the history of 
France. But there is also the danger that the work will be col- 
oured by the modern idea of nationality, and that the compre- 
hensive scope of mediaeval life and institutions may not be 
perceived. This might be better than meandering through the 
thousand years from 400 to 1400 according to the method fre- 
quently pursued. The centre of interest shifts so rapidly that 
the pupil is bewildered. First he follows the different Ger- 
manic tribes over the Empire, hurrying from Moesia to Spain 
and Britain, then gazes helplessly at a kaleidoscopic confusion, 
principally in Gaul. His eye finally rests upon the firmer out- 
lines of the Carolingian monarchy, but with the downfall of 
Charlemagne's empire there is another blur, relieved by the 
career of the Ottos, until the crusades and the struggle between 
the Empire and the papacy comes in to dominate two cen- 
turies. Incidentally, there is a lesson or two on Mohammed- 
anism, the feudal system, the monasteries, and the papacy. 



MEDIAEVAL HISTORY 257 

Such confusion may be avoided without abandoning the 
attempt to teach mediaeval history directly. The lack of unity 
in the subject is only apparent. Indeed, there is 
quite as much unity in mediaeval society as in Vmty ' 
ancient or in modern society. For the school the problem of 
treatment is difficult simply because the very thing that imparts 
this unity, that is, the great institutions of the Middle Ages, are 
in many of their aspects beyond the circle of the pupil's in- 
terests and of his powers. The difficulty cannot be avoided, 
because hardly anything that took place during the period can 
be understood apart from these institutions. If one were to 
ask the difference between the early Capetian monarchy and 
the Bourbon monarchy, it would be enough to reply, " Feudal- 
ism." And in the same manner the Church sums up the char- 
acteristic differences between the intellectual, moral, and religious 
life of the modern man and that of his mediaeval ancestor. 
While an adequate comprehension of these institutions is im- 
possible to children in the high school, there are many things 
about them, and in a sense symbolic of their character, which 
are quite as interesting as any other historical fact. It is the 
business of the teacher to seek these out, and through them to 
give unity to the management of the subject, so that the pupil 
may be saved from aimless wanderings through a multitude of 
disconnected events. 

Although the great institutions of the Middle Ages are to 
furnish the theoretical centre of interest, or the theme, they 
must not monopolize attention or force a treatment in other 
than the chronological order. To take up the feudal system 
descriptively, and merely discuss the historical origin of this 
or that feature, would not be an historical treatment. The 
familiar ground from the Roman Empire to the Renaissance 
must be covered, but the teacher must not in the midst 
of details lose sight of the distinctive features of mediae- 
val society to which each group of incidents should contribute 
some impression of an origin, a tendency, or of the mature 
result, so that through an emphasis or an explanation here and 

17 



258 MEDIAEVAL HISTORY 

there the pupil may gradually perceive the real character of the 
whole. 

At the beginning the pupils should know what the Middle 
Ages started with, the more obvious features of Roman life and 
What the tne im P erial regime, the armies, the roads, the 
Middle Ages great landed estates with their slaves and tenants, 
started wi . ^ b ur( j ens w hi cri rested on the people, the ex- 
tent to which Roman civilization had become the civilization of 
the West. Such things are well within the comprehension of 
the child because he is familiar with the same things in his own 
community. In studying the Germanic invasions, he should 
not conclude that anarchy everywhere took the place of the 
old order, so that society had to begin again. The invaders 
were comparatively few, and except in Britain, where the fight 
was so stubborn that both the defenders and their institutions 
perished, the conquerors were powerless to impose a wholly 
new order of things, even if they had wished to do this. There 
are some things that brute force cannot accomplish. Accord- 
ingly, after the general history of the invasions has been studied, 
the pupil's attention should be directed to the form in which 
parts of the Roman system survived. What was the new mili- 
tary organization? Were the roads and bridges kept up? 
How did the invasions affect trade and the cities which trade 
creates ? Did the rich land-owners lose their estates, or were 
they able, as patrons of their weaker neighbours, to gather up 
some of the power which must be exercised in every com- 
munity and which the crude German could not grasp ? How 
did the bishop come out of the struggle? What became of 
the slaves, of the half- free tenants, or of the petty land-owners? 
Such questions as these will suggest continuity and develop- 
ment in the midst of what seems almost wholly destructive. 

The growth of the church must also be kept in mind from 
the beginning. Its history is difficult to teach because the 
church is regarded primarily as a religious organ- 
ization, perhaps even a sect, and so outside the 
limits of ordinary history except in certain great moments, like 



MEDIAEVAL HISTORY 259 

the preaching of the crusades, the humiliation of Henry IV. at 
Canossa, and Innocent Third's conflict with King John. Prot- 
estants often carry their antagonism to the present Roman 
Catholic church into their conception of the mediaeval church, 
and trace out a genealogy of independent sects, extending to 
the early days of Christianity, in order to look upon these as 
the precursors of modern Protestantism, a sort of Apostolic 
Succession of dissent. But the pupil, if properly directed, will 
soon find out that the church was not like modern churches, 
that it did many things now left to the state, and that it had 
powers which only a state is supposed to possess. In order to 
perform its functions, a great administrative system, a body of 
law, with courts and lawyers, came into existence. At one 
time civilization lay chiefly within the church ; outside were 
ignorance, war, and often ruthless oppression. If therefore the 
Middle Ages are to be understood, the pupil must understand 
this great institution. 1 

There are some phases of the subject which require a maturer 
development of interest and power than can be looked for in 
the high school pupil. The older student may 
find the process by which the jurisdiction of the 
papacy was slowly extended over the west a fascinating illus- 
tration of the growth of institutions, but the efforts of chil- 
dren must be more modest. In the accounts of popes like 
Leo I. and Gregory I. they may learn what influence the earlier 
bishops of Rome possessed, and that it was partly through 
being the servi servorum dei, by performing important services, 
that they attained their primacy in western Europe. The 
career of Boniface is a further illustration. Incidentally he estab- 
lished the jurisdiction of the papacy in Germany, but his work 
was chiefly significant because through the organized forces of 
Christianity he pushed the limits of Frankish civilization steadily 

1 Professor J. H. Robinson says : " It would hardly be exaggerating 
its importance if we said that the chief interest of the earlier Middle 
Ages lies in the development of the Roman Catholic Church ; that of 
the later Middle Ages in its controlling influence at the height of its 
power." Report of the Americait Historical Association for 1899, *• 533- 



260 MEDIAEVAL history 

eastward, making possible Charlemagne's political successes in 
the same region. A glance at the map of mediaeval Germany- 
shows how important a part the church took in its creation. 1 

The rise of the monasteries, and particularly the Benedictine 
Rule, presents another phase of church life. Although one or 
two aspects of the ascetic theory cannot be dis- 
cussed in the class-room, features of the monastic 
life, the work for civilization done in new lands by the monas- 
teries, are pertinent. In studying the Benedictine Rule, the 
teacher may use the source method, because the directions 
are so simple that they are easily interpreted, although it is not 
always easy for young pupils to see the reasons for a particular 
provision. For example, section 33 says the monk "should 
have absolutely not anything : neither a book, nor tablets, nor a 
pen — nothing at all." Further on, to " call anything his own " 
is pronounced a " most evil vice." Such passages require an 
interpretation based on a deeper knowledge of human nature. 
If the selections from the Rule are judiciously made, and the 
teacher carefully directs the studies of the class, such reading 
will be profitable. The later history of monasticism is quite 
as instructive, and furnishes figures still more picturesque. 
This includes the rise of the order of Cluny, the career of St. 
Bernard of Clairvaux, the orders of St. Francis and St. Dominic. 

As in each historical subject, the first step is to go over the 
field geographically. For mediaeval history this is quite as 
important as for the history of Greece. It has already been re- 
marked that the physical features of northern Europe profoundly 
affected the development of its history. These the teacher 
should allude to from time to time, as the events themselves 
illustrate their influence. 

It is also necessary to keep in mind the important changes 
and to group them intelligently. The most general changes are 
Movement of tne movements of population, which are often studied 
Population. as separate incidents, but which should also be 
grouped. These are the Germanic invasions, the southward 

1 Droysen, Handatlas, plates 34, 35. 



MEDIAEVAL HISTORY 261 

movement of the Slavs into the Danube valley and the Balkan 
peninsula, the coming of the Magyars, the Danish and Norse 
invasions, the reaction of the Germans eastward under Charle- 
magne and the Ottos, the advance of the Turks, and the cru- 
sades. The object of such a grouping is to make clear the racial 
elements of modern Europe. 

The topical development of the subject until the age of 
Charlemagne may be briefly summarized as follows. Because 
of the length of the period (395-1560) covered in this chapter, 
attention can be called by topical summaries to only the most 
salient features of the subject. 

The Roman Eitifire: its later organization into provinces, 
dioceses, and prefectures, illustrated from Gaul ; the city, the unit 
of local government ; the emperor, the source of authority, the 
central administration ■ the frontiers, especially the limes in 
southern Germany, the wall of " Hadrian" in Britain, and the 
open frontier in the east ; the army and its composition, recall 
the part the army had played particularly after 180; social organi- 
zation, classes, tendency of the middle class to partial loss of 
freedom, the slaves acquire a recognised position as members 
of society, increasing wealth and power of the great nobles ; 
causes of these changes in the financial burdens of the Empire, 
in the crushing load resting on the curials of the cities, and in 
the exemption of the nobles from taxation. 1 

The Church : organization in the fourth century, the Arian 
controversy as affecting the career of the Germans through the 
work of Ulfilas ; the growing power of the bishops, particu- 
larly of the bishop of Rome, extent to which the bishop of 
Rome's jurisdiction was recognised in the west during the 
fourth, fifth, and sixth centuries ; the anchorites and the early 



1 Penn. Tr. &* Rp., VI. No. 4, contains Notitia Dignitatum or " Regis- 
ter of Dignitaries of the Empire" about 395. Selections from Am- 
mianus Marcellinus (see index Bohn ed.) may also be read with profit; 
one passage describing a battle between Julian and the Alemanni in Penn. 
Tr. &> Rp., VI. 3, pp. 30 ff. Hodgkin, Dynasty of Theodosius, I. 54 ; 
Adams, Civilization during the Middle Ages, 14-38 ; and Bury, Later Ro- 
man Empire, I. 25-49, are instructive. Dill's description of Roman life 
in the century of the invasions clears up many difficult matters. Oman, 
Art of War. 



262 MEDIAEVAL HISTORY 

monks, Benedict and his Rule (528), significance of the early 
monastic system and its civilizing influence. 1 

The Barbarians : location of the German tribes, the Celts, 
the restless Asiatics ; extent to which the Empire was already 
Germanized, occupations which had fallen into the hands of the 
Germans, German character of the army ; organization and con- 
dition of the German tribes outside the Empire, state of civili- 
zation, ideas of law, religion, organization for fighting ; Ulfilas 
(31 1-38 1) and his Christian Goths. 2 

In studying the earlier emigrations, it is advisable not only to 

follow the line of march of the peoples, but also to consider 

together the peoples that affected the subsequent 
The Invasions. , 

development of a single land, like Gaul. Pupils 

may be able to describe the wanderings of the Visi- Goths and 
of every other tribe of invaders, but are not able to give the 
history of Gaul during the invasions. They cannot use their 
knowledge in any other order than that in which they acquired 
it. The teacher should aim in this, as in other kinds of work, 
to make knowledge usable. From the point of view of re- 
sults, the Ostro-Gothic invasion of Italy is a passing incident, 
chiefly important because of the commanding figure of Theodo- 

1 Dill's Roman Society throws light upon the growing, power of the 
bishops. For Leo, see Milman, Latin Christianity, Bk. II., chap. iv. 
Professor Lavisse calls Leo the most remarkable personage in the Em- 
pire during the fifth century, Lavisse et Rambaud, Histoire gaierale, I. 
210. He describes (pp. 241 ff.) the position of supremacy in the affairs 
of the city of Rome held by Gregory, who was the richest proprietor in 
Italy at a time when landed property and power were synonymous. 
Gregory was the superior of the city prefect ; he had charge of public 
works and charities; his deacons were at the head of the seven quarters 
of the city, and the people were grouped about the churches. Sketch of 
Gregory in Schaff, History of the Christian Church, IV. 211-229. Ex- 
cerpts from the Rule of Benedict are found in Henderson, 274-314, and 
in a briefer selection in Fling, II. No. 6. See also Emerton, Mediceval 
Europe, 555-581. 

2 Perm. Tr. & Pp., VI. No. 3, contains Caesar B. G., Lib. VI. cc 
xxi.-xxiv., on the " Germans, and the Germania of Tacitus." Selections 
of the Germania also in Fling, European Hist. Studies, II. No. 2 ; in 
Univ. of Indiana Extracts from the Sources, No. 9; in Kendall, Source- 
Book ; Lee, Source-Book ; Colby, Selections. Special works, Gummere, 
Germanic Origins. Mommsen's Provinces. 



MEDIAEVAL HISTORY 263 

ric, but not so permanent in its influence as the coming of the 
Lombards. The study of the migrations will be more interest- 
ing if emphasis be put also upon the names of places left as mon- 
uments of these emigrations of peoples, such as England, Sussex 
and Essex, Normandy, Franconia, Saxony, Austria, Burgundy, 
France, and Lombardy. 

The Invasions or Migrations .- 1 recall earlier attacks by 
German tribes, — Cimbri and Teutones, Ariovistus, the Goths 
in the third century — location of the Goths in the fourth 
century, pressure from the Huns (who were they?), admitted 
into Mcesia, insurrection, and battle of Hadrianople (378), 
military significance of this battle, pacification of the Goths by 
Theodosius. 

Visi-Gothic march through Greece and Illyricum ; Stilicho, 
terms offered Alaric, relation of Alaric's movements to the 
invasion of Ratger (Radagaisus), and to the denuding of 
the frontier of Gaul, so facilitating the invasion of Gaul by the 
Vandals, Alans, and Suevi (406) ; removal of the legions 
from Britain ; three sieges of Rome, conduct of the Goths 
toward the churches during the sack of the city (410) ; final 
settlement of the Visi-Goths in Gaul and Spain and their re- 
lations to the Empire. 

Vandals, etc. ; march through Gaul and Spain, in Africa 
(429). 

Burgundian settlements in the Rhone valley. 

The teacher should note the gradualness of the invasions. 
This fact becomes clear if the relations of several are empha- 
sized. Those that fall between 400 and 414 belong 
together as one grand movement, although not con- 
sciously combined in every case. It was a generation before 
another attack of so dangerous a character was made against 
the European provinces of the Empire. This was under the 

1 Selections from sources on the whole subject in the Source-Books ; 
Colby, Kendall, and Lee, in Gee and Hardy's Documents Illustrative of 
English Church History. 

Principal authorities are Hodgkin's Italy and her Invaders (phases briefly 
treated in his Theodosius and his Theodoric), in Bury's Later Roman 
Empire, and in the general histories of England, France, Germany, and 
Spain. 



264 MEDIEVAL HISTORY 

leadership of Attila, and was followed by the Vandal sack of 
Rome. During the same years the Angles, Saxons, and Jutes 
were making their first incursions into Britain. On the Conti- 
nent there was a lull for about another generation, and then came 
the Frankish invasion of Gaul, and the Ostro-Gothic invasion of 
Italy. It is not urged that this way of putting the matter sums 
up accurately the whole series of phenomena, but it will keep 
the pupil from the notion that the Roman world went down 
with such a crash that every contemporary must have realized 
the significance of what was taking place and have been over- 
whelmed by the tragedy of such ruin. 

Second group of invasions : Attila * and his empire, battle of 
Chalons (451), invasion of Italy, founding of Venice, Leo and 
Attila, dissolution of Attila's empire, Gaiseric's sack of Rome 
(455), "Vandalism," increasing disorganization of the imperial 
power. 

Angles, Saxons, and Jutes : nature of the conquest of Britain 
(449-), the petty kingdoms, conversion of the English by 
Gregory's missionaries (596-) and by the Celtic missionaries, 
unifying influence of the church. 

Third Group : Clovis and the Franks conquer Syagrius at 
Soissons (486), importance of the conversion of the Franks to 
the orthodox faith, extent of the Frankish power at the death 
of Clovis (511). 

Theodoric: Odovakar and the " Fall of Rome" (476) ; char- 
acter of Theodoric's kingdom of Italy (493), relation to the 
emperor at Constantinople, effect of the fact that the Ostro- 
Goths were Arians upon the success of his experiment. 

The reaction tinder Justi?tian (527-565): overthrow of the 
Ostro-Gothic and Vandal kingdoms, territorial extent of the 
Empire at Justinian's death, Justinian's work in codifying and 
reforming the Roman Law, his work as a builder, the splendours 
of Constantinople. 2 

The Lombards in Italy (568) : they upset a part of Justin- 



1 In Bury's Later Roman Empire, I. 213-223, is an interesting glimpse 
of " Hun Life " from Priscus. 

2 Bury particularly, also Oman's Byzantine Empire. For the Roman 
Law, Muirhead in Encyclopedia Britannica and Morey, Outlines, see also 
the outline of Topics in Munro's Syllabus, 14-17. Selections from the 
Institutes in Fling, E. H. S., I. No. 10. 



MEDIEVAL HISTORY 265 

ian's work, reasons why they failed to found a united kingdom 
of Italy, the Arian difficulty. 

Since by the end of the sixth century the old Roman world 

had given place to a new order, it is well to study the results of 

the invasions as a whole, and to see what the char- „ ^ 

Results, 
acteristics of the new regime were. Such work will 

be facilitated by taking as an example a region like Gaul, and 
making incidental comparisons with the state of affairs else- 
where. 

Results: relative numbers of the invaders, extent to which they 
were destroyers or settlers, extent to which they dispossessed 
the occupants, effect of the invasions upon the great cities, 1 
decay of mechanic arts and of commerce, new systems of gov- 
ernment; new laws 2 and courts, compurgation, the ordeal, 3 
wager of battle ; the new nobility, condition of the freeman, 
slavery gradually gives way to serfdom ; beginnings of new 
languages indicate completion of fusion. 

Mohammedanism: Mohammed's personal career, nature of 
his religious reform, Moslem calendar, Hegira (622), the Koran, 
his work becomes military, extent of Mohammedan conquests 
during the century after his death ; organization of the new 
power, effect of its rise upon the Eastern or Byzantine Empire ; 
character of Saracen civilization. 4 

The Franks : confusion following the death of Clovis, gen- 
eral characteristics of Frankish history until the rise of the 
Carolingian Mayors of the Palace, function of this office ; the 
work of Boniface (c. 680-755) and its relation to the exten- 
sion of Frankish influence eastward, Austrasia and Neustria ; 

1 Crawford, Ave Roma Lmmortalis, I. 92 ff. ; Lanciani, The Destruction 
of Ancient Rome ; Kitchin, I. 67-80. 

2 For example, The Salic Law, Henderson, 176 ff. By means of well- 
chosen questions the pupils may succeed in drawing intelligent infer- 
ences on the state of Frankish civilization from this document. See 
Adams, Civilization during the Middle Ages, chap, v., " What the Ger- 
mans added." 

3 Perm. Tr. &° Pp., IV. No. 4. 

4 Fling, E. H. S., II. No. 3, contains selections from the Koran. See 
also Lane, Selections from the Ku-an, and Muir, The Coran, its Composi- 
tion and Teaching (S. P. C. K.). Muir, Life of Mahomet ; Bury's Later 
Roman Empire, Burke's Spain, Freeman's History and Conquests of the 
Saracens, Lane-Poole's The Moors in Spain, Oman's Art of War. 



266 MEDIEVAL HISTORY 

Charles Martel and the Mohammedans at Tours (732) ; coro- 
nation of Pippin (751), called into Italy to defend the pope 
against the Lombards, declining power of the Empire in Italy, 
the results of the image-breaking controversy, Pippin's Dona- 
tion, amount of territory left the Empire in Italy. 

The tendency toward a redistribution of power and a reorgani- 
zation of society becomes still more striking with the advent of 

wthof Charlemagne, whose personal exertions stayed it 
Feudal here and there, but who was obliged to yield on 

more than one spot. 1 When Charlemagne's strong 
hand was gone, the pent-up forces again asserted themselves, 
and within the century, in France at least, feudal society was 
constituted in the form which was to remain dominant until 
the days of Louis IX. and Philip IV. 

Some of the steps in this process are also intelligible to pupils 
of high school age. They can enter into the situation of the 
free land-owner whose little farm lay uncultivated while he 
went to the wars against the Saxons, and can see the reasons 
for the creation of a body of soldiers, each of whom owed 
military service in return for a gift of land from the king. Pos- 
sibly also they can, by careful explanation, be led to see how 
natural it was for such men to gain power over the weak as their 
patrons, particularly if they were royal officers, and how they 
could even divide some of the king's powers among themselves. 
When a man had combined these functions in himself, the 
feudal system was almost complete. 

Charlemagne (771-814) : his conquests, significance of his 
conquest of the Saxons, and of the Lombards, extent of his 
control ; relations with the papacy, renewal of the Donation 
of Pippin ; significance of his coronation at Rome, the sense in 
which the Empire was restored, theories of the coronation ; 
organization of his rule as Frankish monarch and as emperor ; 
the revival of learning at his court ; his contemporaries, Egbert 
of England and Haroun-al-Raschid of Bagdad. 2 

1 Emerton, Introduction to the Middle Ages, 233-234; Kitchin, I. 137- 
153; Adams, Growth of French Nation, 43-46. 

2 Penn. Tr. 6° Rp. t VI. No. 5, selections from the Laws of Charles 



MEDIAEVAL HISTORY 267 

Dedi?ie of Charlemagne's Empire : Louis the Pious, the pro- 
jected divisions of the Empire, humiliation of Louis ; Stras- 
bourg Oaths and the treaty of Verdun (843) ; general character 
of the period that followed, until 987 in Frankland (or France), 
until 911 in Germany, and until 962 in Italy. 1 

The Invasions renewed : the Norsemen along the coasts of 
western Europe, the Hungarians overland from the east, the 
Danes in England. 2 

After the downfall of Charlemagne's empire has been de- 
scribed and before the new monarchies of England, France, 

and Germany are taken up, the feudal system, itself 

i , , , , , - „ Feudalism, 

the result of these processes, should be carefully 

explained. This task is difficult, more difficult than teachers 
sometimes appear to imagine. It is as if one should undertake 
to analyze and explain modern society, its structure, its indus- 
trial organization, and its political institutions, and all in a 
dozen pages. 

The subject is ordinarily approached from the highly abstract 
point of view of social structure, something quite incompre- 
hensible to the boy or girl of fifteen or sixteen. It would be 
better to study first the life of the common people, who, in a 
sense, were below rather than in the feudal system, and from 
the manor or the burg to move up to the noble, count, or bishop, 



the Great. The important capitulary for the Missi is also in Henderson, 
pp. 189-201. Penn. Tr. 6° Rp., III. No. 2, contains selections from the 
capitulary ak Villis and an " Inventory of an Estate of Charles the Great/' 
pp. 2-6. Einhard's Life will interest children, because of its graphic 
description of Charlemagne's appearance and habits. Consult Bryce for 
coronation and significance. Compare Einhard's account of the corona- 
tion with the three given in Bryce, to show the pupils the nature of tes- 
timony. For education, West's Alcuiri. 

1 The teacher should be careful about expressing contempt for Louis 
the Pious, and should consult more than one estimate of his character. 
The situation rather than the weakness of individual men accounts for 
the ruin of Charlemagne's empire. See Emerton, Mediceval Europe, 15, 
and Kitchin, France, I. 154-157. Strasbourg Oaths translated in Emer- 
ton, 26-27. 

2 In a sense this new shifting of population lasted until the decisive 
defeat of the Hungarians at Lechfeld (955) and until the Norman con- 
quest of England (1066). 



268 MEDIAEVAL HISTORY 

who was in authority ; to attempt to perceive the limits of his 
power by the experience of the people with actual nobles ; 
and finally, proceeding always from the ground, to trace out 
those ramifications of the system which the pupil may fairly 
be asked to become acquainted with. One or two detailed 
illustrations may make this suggestion more intelligible. 

The economic unit of mediaeval society is the manor. 1 Al- 
though it was subject to change like all the rest, its typical form 
was stable enough to be treated as characteristic of 
a long period of time. The teacher should con- 
duct the pupils in imagination over such a one, explaining the 
different sorts of people, villains and slaves, and the lord who 
ruled them ; showing how curiously the land was divided, 
how it was cultivated, comparing the agricultural system with 
our own, noting the treatment of forests, pastures, and 
streams ; pointing out the lord's domain and describing the 
dues of service and produce, and other rights which belonged 
to him. Different cases may be considered, some where the 
manor was managed by a steward for a distant lord or for the 
king, or where it was all that the resident lord held. After this, 
the relations of the individual lord to his seigneur or lord may 
be explained, and the amount of local authority conceded to 
him. Here is the time to direct the pupil's attention to the 
revocable character of grants of land, that is, to the benefice. 
The pupil sees the land concretely ; he is able to realize that the 
lord holds it of some higher lord, and with it certain govern- 
mental rights, because he does something in return, acts of 
military service, assistance at court in administering justice, 
payment of aids and reliefs, and because he has entered into 
the state of vassalage, a highly honourable relation. 2 



1 For descriptions of the mediaeval manor, see Thurston, Economics 
and Indzistrial History, 49-62. Cunningham, Outlines of English Indus- 
trial History, 28-45. More detailed information may be found in Ashley, 
Economic History, Seebohm, English Village Communities, and in Chey- 
ney, Industrial and Social History of England, more briefly Emerton, 509 ff. 

2 The details of feudalism are well described in Adams, Civilization 



MEDIAEVAL HISTORY 269 

There are two aspects of the matter that it is more difficult 
to make comprehensible to children whose experience of affairs 
is so meagre ; one of these is the unit of sovereignty, 
and the other the dominating influence of the fief. 5crics! lt 
The lord who possesses a grant of immunity which 
keeps out of his domain the law officers of his suzerain is in 
reality a petty sovereign, for with the right of administering 
justice in serious cases usually goes the right of private war, 
of coining money, and other rights which are regarded as 
incidents of sovereignty. The pupil can hardly understand the 
subsequent history of Europe, particularly the growth of the 
new states, unless he realizes how the sovereignty of the state 
was by such grants parcelled out and localized, so that the 
problem before the Capetian kings, for example, was the recov- 
ery of sovereignty. 1 They would not have put it in such 
words, but instinctively they worked toward this end. Once 
the pupil sees that the lord who had the right of judging with- 
out appeal was the actual king, mediaeval politics becomes 
clearer. Now, this local sovereign might be the monarch 
himself, or a duke, or even a lesser baron. Theoretically, it 
would be impossible to say who possessed such rights ; this 
must be determined by looking up each case. The king 
had his immediate domain over which he ruled directly ; so 



during the Middle Ages, pp. 194 ff., and in Emerton, Medieval Europe, 
pp. 477 ff. 

1 For documents illustrating growth of personal dependence, Penn. 
Tr. &= Rp., IV. No. 3, pp. 3-6, especially documents 2, 4, 6. For seizure 
or grant of sovereign authority, see grants of immunity in the same collec- 
tion, pp. 11-12. The capitulary of Kiersey, p. 14. The point of the 
grant of immunity lies in such words as "in entire immunity, and with- 
out the entrance of any one of the judges for the purpose of holding the 
pleas of any kind of causes," which practically conceded sovereignty. 
The teacher should note that most of these documents are formulas, 
not particular instances of grants. It is from the analysis of contracts 
of all sorts which have been preserved that the general features of the 
feudal system have been drawn. The system never existed : a mul- 
titude of bargains existed; their common characteristics, properly 
described, are the system. For certain aspects of feudal society, Fling, 
E. H. S., II. No. 5. 



270 MEDIEVAL HISTORY 

also did the dukes or counts who ruled under him, but all of 
them might have vassals who possessed similar rights and within 
whose lands the suzerain could not interfere. To put the mat- 
ter in another way, the people of one manor might look to the 
king for justice, while those of the next might look to a petty 
baron, a count, or a duke. 

The fief is still more fundamental. It was to this that every- 
thing was attached, — rights, duties, and privileges. It was gen- 
erally, but not necessarily, a piece of land. A man's position 
in a particular locality was measured by the fief he held there. 
Even a king might become a vassal, if he held a fief to which 
the obligations of vassalage were attached. 

All the lighter sides of feudalism, the life in the castle, the 
training for knighthood, the tourneys, the methods of fighting, 1 
may serve to keep the teaching of the feudal system in the 
high school from becoming abstract and repellent. 

The feudal system should not be forgotten in the later more 
stirring period of the Middle Ages; otherwise its function in 
Decay of preserving unity in the management of the subject 

Feudalism. w [\\ not k e performed. The rise of the new mon- 
archies, the crusades, the revolt of the communes, the organi- 
zation of standing armies, the beginnings of taxation, the 
growth of a commercial class, and the revival of trade, are all 
related to the feudal system, and the relation should be brought 
out so that the pupil may realize how feudalism gradually gave 
place to a new order of things. 

This line of thought may be summarized as follows : the 
mediaeval manor or vill, demesne, the three fields, other land ; 
the lord, his rights, privileges, and duties ; the villain, tenure of 
land, relation to lord, weekly and occasional services ; eco- 
nomic self-dependence of such a community. 

Feudal society: feudal obligations of land-holding, immu- 
nities, subinfeudation, ceremonies of fealty and homage, edu- 
cation of young nobles, extent to which there was a feudal 
hierarchy. 



1 See fascinating account of Louis VI.'s capture of Hugh of Puiset, 
in Hume, E. H. S., II. No. 5, pp. 75-80. 



MEDIAEVAL HISTORY 271 

The next subject is the beginnings of the new kingdoms. 
This should be treated generally except where, as in the case 
of Alfred the Great, a deep interest attaches to the New Mon . 
details of the story. The pupils should understand archies, 
that these beginnings were amidst scenes of turmoil and con- 
fusion, but they may postpone until a later study the attempt 
to trace the exact line of evolution. 

Papacy : under Nicholas I., aims illustrated in the creation 
of the Pseudo-Isidorian Decretals and the Donation of Constan- 
tine ; degraded by the destruction of the Carolingian empire to 
the level of tenth century Italian politics. 1 

England : meaning of the Heptarchy, union of England 
under Egbert of Wessex, Alfred (871-901), and the Danes, 
Wedmore, significance of Alfred's work for English civilization ; 
reopening of the quarrel with the Danes, Ethelred the Rede- 
less, England added to Canute's dominions ; the Norman 
Conquest (1066), battle of Hastings, William's policy toward 
the feudal nobles, his Domesday survey, quarrel about the 
succession. 2 

France : West Frankish kingdom in the latter part of the 
ninth and in the tenth century, countships become hereditary 
(edict of Kiersey, 877) • Charles the Simple and the Normans ; 
growth of the power of the successors of Robert the Strong, 
dukes of France, Hugh Capet king (987), nature of his power 
(he was, in effect, king of church and of people, suzerain of 
the great nobles), small amount of territory originally in royal 
domain, success of family in establishing hereditary principle. 

Germany : the German duchies in the tenth century, Henry 
the Fowler (919-936) founder of cities; Otto the Great (936- 
973), attempts to centralize his power, crushes the Hungarians 
(955); intervenes in Italy, crowned emperor (962), his imperial 
domain compared with that of Charlemagne, theory of the 
Holy Roman Empire, his policy and the policy of Henry III. 
(1039-1056) toward the papacy. 3 

In the eleventh century the influence of the church is 
the dominant factor. From it came the Truce of God, the 

1 Pseudo-Isidore, see note, p. 35 ; Donation of Constantine, Hender- 
son, 519-329. 

2 Colby, Kendall, Lee, Source Books ; Anglo-Saxon Chronicle. 
8 The classical authority is Bryce, Holy Roman Empire. 



272 MEDIAEVAL HISTORY 

first effective effort to check the frightful ravages of seigneurial 
or private wars. One of its most strenuous leaders, Pope 
Church vs. Urban II., uttered the call to the crusades. In 
Empire. the investiture conflict is seen the extent to which 

church and state were blended. Some of the incidents of this 
conflict, which passed at length into other phases, are among 
the most picturesque of the whole period, — Henry IV. at 
Canossa, Frederick Barbarossa at Venice, the bitter struggle for 
supremacy between Frederick II. and his papal foes. It is the 
investiture phase that throws most light upon mediaeval history. 
The teacher should show what were the real difficulties of the 
situation, how the problem presented itself to both pope and 
emperor. It has already been pointed out that the bishops 
picked up some of the power which fell from the hands of the 
Roman administrators. As the church grew rich in land, and 
as land came to be the basis of public authority, the bishops 
became nobles. They differed from the ordinary noble in that 
they could not bequeath their office, and that they had eccle- 
siastical functions to perform. If the canons against the mar- 
riage of the clergy were not enforced, bishoprics and abbeys 
might, like countships, become hereditary, and the church 
become secularized. So long as the church nobles held fiefs 
which owed services to the state, the emperor and the kings 
could not allow the right of exacting homage and fealty, or of 
investing with the symbols of authority, to pass out of their 
hands. But the popes, under the influence of the Cluny ideal, 
were anxious that the church be protected from the invasion of 
worldly interests. In the act of investiture they saw the sin of 
simony, the sale of the Holy Spirit, because there was such a 
temptation before the eager candidate for ecclesiastical honours 
to buy with promises or with money the sudden elevation to 
power which went with a bishopric. Moreover, popes like 
Gregory VII. had dreams of universal dominion, when all 
powers should be subject to the see of Peter. It is by such 
a line of thought that the teacher may make this important 
incident of the Middle Ages serve to explain more than its 



MEDIEVAL HISTORY 273 

own story. 1 The policy of William the Conqueror should be 
compared with that of Henry IV., and the compromise of 
1 106 in England with the Concordat of Worms. 2 The teacher 
should guard against violent statements of Henry's character, 
for too many makers of manuals base their accounts wholly on 
the statements of Henry's enemies. 3 

Investiture Conflict: law of 1059 on papal elections; Greg- 
ory VII. ( 1 073-1 085), his policy toward the filling of vacant 
sees or abbeys, toward married priests, Henry Fourth's weak- 
nesses, exact occasion of the quarrel, why Henry was forced to 
give way, Canossa ; Henry's subsequent conduct, attitude of 
later popes toward him; his son's attempt, in 1111, to force 
substantial concessions from the papacy, Concordat of n 22; 
compare with Henry's policy that of William the Conqueror 
and Henry I. of England. 

Before taking up the second phase of the conflict between 
the Church and the Empire, the first crusade and 
the rise of the cities should be considered. 

First Crusade (1096-1099) : pilgrimages, effect upon them 
of the rise of the Seljuk Turks, condition of the Byzantine 
Empire since the time of Charlemagne, council at Clermont, 
Urban's speech, what Peter the Hermit did, what persons took 
the lead, their motives, their quarrels, their division of the spoil 
in Palestine and Syria. 4 

In considering the rise of the cities, although attention may 
be directed chiefly to the cities of France, because 
of the effect of the movement upon the feudal 
system and the growth of royal power, the pupil should under- 

1 The most accessible single authority for this controversy is Eryce, 
Holy Roman Empire. See, also, Adams, Civilization during the Middle 
Ages, chap. x. ; Milman's Latin Christianity, Bk. VII. chap. i. ff. For 
the documents, Henderson, 365-409. 

2 William the Conqueror's letter to Gregory, Lee, Source Book of 
English History, 121-122. The English Compromise, Lee, 128-129. 

3 A temperate account of Henry IV. is given in Emerton, Medieval 
Europe, 240 ff. 

4 In Penn. Tr. & Rp., II. No. 4 (Urban and the Crusades, Letters 
of the Crusaders) are many useful selections. 

18 



274 MEDIAEVAL HISTORY 

stand that the same movement produced important results in 
England, Italy, and Germany. 

Towns: Mediaeval commerce, trade routes, fairs, extent to 
which the Roman cities survived, origin of other mediaeval 
towns, the merchant guilds, the craft guilds ; impulse toward 
greater local independence, relation of the towns to the nobles 
in France, in Italy ; time at which town movement becomes 
strong in each country ; distinction in France between com- 
munal charters and charters of privileges ; Venice, Genoa, 
Milan, Florence ; origin of the German Free cities. 1 

On account of the different lines of development in Euro- 
pean history that run along side by side, it is difficult to pre- 
serve the chronological order in dealing with any single phase. 
The order adopted here aims to keep in view the common 
relations of all. 

The second and third phases of the struggle between the Em- 
pire and the papacy are political in their motive, and there are 
Church and no special difficulties in teaching them. They 
Empire again. are not as significant as the investiture conflict. 
The first was a quarrel about precedence and about northern 
Italy ; the second the attempt of each to ruin the other. One 
of the consequences of the seeming triumph of the papacy was 
the relative increase in the importance of the kingdoms which 
had once occupied a position subordinate in dignity to that of 
the Empire. This boded no good to the papacy, as Boniface 
VIII. realized at Anagni in 1303. The struggle between 
Philip the Fair and Boniface may well appear as the last act of 
the drama, and be so treated by the teacher. 

Frederick Barbarossa (11 5 2-1 190) : Arnold of Brescia at 
Rome, relations of Frederick with Pope Hadrian IV., his policy 
toward the Lombard cities, quarrel about the word " Bene- 
ficium," Roncaglian diet of 1158, revival of the Roman law 
and Roman ideas of imperial authority, the Lombard League, 
Legnano and the treaty of Constance (1183). 2 

1 On the French communes, valuable sources are in Fling, E. H. S., 
II. Nos. 8 and 9, The Rise of Cities and the Trades of Paris. For Eng- 
land, Penn. Tr. 6° Rp., II. No. 1, English Towns and Guilds. 

2 Henderson gives the principal documents, 410-430. 



MEDIAEVAL HISTORY 275 

Henry II of England : his claim to the throne, his reforms, 
quarrel with Thomas a Becket over the rights of the church, 
his Continental possessions, his relations to Louis VII. of 
France. 1 

Third Crusade (1189-) : rise of Saladin, capture of Jeru- 
salem (1187), difference in character between the third cru- 
sade and the first, death of Frederick Barbarossa, difficulties 
between Philip Augustus and Richard the Lion-hearted, 
Richard's achievements, return and imprisonment, his ransom 

(1194). 2 

The papacy at the height of its power : dangerous combina- 
tion of territory in the hands of Frederick's successor, Henry VI., 
his sudden death (1197), Innocent III. (1 198-12 16), disputes 
over the imperial succession ; Innocent's triumphs and failures, 
— the fourth crusade (the Latin Empire, 1 204-1 261), the 
crusade against the Albigenses (1208), his quarrel with John 
of England, with Philip Augustus. 3 

Fall of the Hohenstaufen emperors: Frederick II. (1215- 
1250), wins his heritage, his quarrel with the papacy about the 
crusade, San Germano, reopening of the quarrel, deadly deter- 
mination of the contestants, execution of the last Hohenstaufen 
at Naples in 1268, Charles of Anjou receives southern Italy and 
Sicily, the great Interregnum (1256-12 73), subsequent relation 
of the Emperor to Italy. 

Monarchy in England and in France: Philip Augustus 
(1 184-1223), extent of the domain at his accession, his war 
with John (1 199-12 16), conquest of Normandy and Anjou, 
reorganization of the royal administration and extension of 
royal authority, effect of the Albigensian crusade on the posi- 
tion of the monarchy, territory in the domain at Philip's death. 4 

John's quarrel with the barons, winning the charter (12 15), 
its provisions about taxation, holding the Great Council, free- 
dom from arbitrary arrest and unjust condemnation. 6 

1 Source books on English History : Hutton's S. Thomas of Canter- 
bury in English History by Contemporary Writers, A. S. Green's Henry 
the Second. 

2 See note on first crusade, also The Crusade of Richard I., edited 
by T. A. Archer {English History by Contemporaiy Writers). 

3 Penn. Tr. &> Pp., III. No. 1, The Fourth Crusade; Pears, Fall of 
Constantinople. For quarrel with John, Colby and Lee, Source Books ; 
Stubbs, Early Plantagenets. 

4 Adams, Growth of the French Nation ; Kitchin, History of France ; 
Hutton, Philip Augustus. 

5 The Great Charter, Penn. Tr. & Rp., I. No. 6. Henderson, 135- 



276 MEDIEVAL HISTORY 

The misrule of Henry III. (1216-1272), knights of the shire 
first summoned to " Parliament" (1254), Earl Simon summons 
the burgesses (1265). 1 

St. Louis (12 2 6-1 270), the typical man of the Middle Ages, 
his generous diplomacy in regard to Henry Third's continental 
possessions, through him the royal justice is elevated and con- 
secrated, his development of the royal administration, his cru- 
sades and death. 2 

Edward I. (12 72-1307), the charters, Parliament, Philip IV. 
(1285-1314), of France, the influence of the lawyers: Boni- 
face VIII. attempts to force Edward and Philip to stop taxing 
the clergy (1296), Edward's method of coercing the clergy, 
Philip summons the first Estates General (1302), Boniface 
seized at Anagni, his death, the Babylonian Captivity. 3 

Among the causes of the Hundred Years War was the dis- 
pute between Edward III. of England and Philip VI. of 
Hundred France over the succession to the French crown. 

Years War. j n discussing this subject the teacher should be 
careful not to mislead the pupil by insisting that the Salic law 
kept women, or those whose sole claim was through a woman, 
from being seated on the throne. It is probable that the Salic 
law had nothing to do with the matter. The early Capetians 
were fortunate in having sons old enough to share the 
throne with them during their lifetime, and when this cus- 
tom of anticipating coronations was given up they still left sons 
to whom the crown passed on their death. The difficulty 
arose when Louis X. died leaving only a daughter. In two 
cases, before Philip of Valois won the crown for himself, daugh- 
ters were ignored, and so it was easy for Philip to add another 
precedent, and help establish a rule of succession which was to 



148, Old South Leaflets, No. 5. Important sections, — 12, 14, 20, 39, 40. 
See also Colby, Kendall, Lee, for selections on the struggle. 

1 For selections in addition to Source Books, W. H. Hutton's Mis- 
rule of Henry III., and J. Hutton's Simon de Montfort and his Cause 
(Contemporary Writers' series). Creighton, Simon de Montfort. 

2 Joinville, Life of St. Louis, in Chronicles of the Crusades. 

3 Henderson, 432-437, Penn. Tr. &> Rp., III. No. 6, the Bulls " Cleri- 
cis Laicos " and " Unam Sanctam." Creighton, History of the Papacy 
during the Reformation. 



MEDIAEVAL HISTORY 277 

save the French monarchy from the peril of being placed by 
marriage in some combination of territory dangerous to French 
interests. This rule of succession came to be popularly called 
the Salic law, after the law of the Salian Franks about the hold- 
ing of land. If the old law had actually been followed, women 
could not have held land ; but it was one of the advantages 
of the situation in France that women could hold great fiefs, 
and so these fiefs could be annexed by marriage to the royal 
domain. 

The Hundred Years War : quarrel between Edward (1327— 
1377) and Philip (1328-1350) about Flanders, Edward's claim 
to the French crown ; Cre'cy (1346) ; the Black Death (1348- 
1349) on the Continent and in England, statutes of Labourers 
in England and in France; Poitiers (1356), Etienne Marcel 
and the revolution in Paris, the Jacquerie, Peace of Bretigny 
(1360), the establishment of a new line of dukes in Burgundy 
(1363), the union between Burgundy and Flanders (1384), 
state of France in the last days of Charles the Wise. 1 

Development of Parliament in Edward Third's day, resist- 
ance to the encroachments of the papacy in the first statutes 
of Provisors and Praemunire, John WyclifTe, Wat Tyler's insur- 
rection (1381), Lollardry, deposition of Richard II., statute 
for the burning of the heretics. 2 

The madness of Charles VI., quarrel between the Armagnacs 
and the Burgundians, Agincourt (141 5), murder of John the 
Fearless, Treaty of Troyes (1422). 

The territory controlled by the English and by the Dauphin 
at the death of Henry V. (1422), early history of Joan of Arc, 
she saves Orleans, crowns the Dauphin at Rheims (1429), is 
taken prisoner and burned as " relapsed," separation of the 
Burgundians from the English, final triumph of Charles the 
Fortunate, the English retain only Calais (1453). 3 

1 Ashley, Edward III. and his Wars (Contemporary Writers), G. 
Macaulay, Froissart ; selections particularly on Crecy in Fling, E. H. S., 
II. No. 4. Statute of Labourers, Henderson, 165-168, Lee, 206-208. For 
Black Death, Source Books, Penn. Tr. &> Rp., II. No. 5 ; also Whit- 
comb, Source Book of the Italian Renaissance (15-18), for Boccaccio's 
account of the plague at Florence. 

2 Colby, Kendall, Lee. 

3 Oliphant, Lowell, biographies of Joan of Arc. Account of her 
trial in Lea, The History of the Inquisition of the Middle Ages. 



278 MEDIEVAL HISTORY 

The study of the last half of the fifteenth century will give 

an opportunity to review the gradual evolution of the French 

monarchy and the consolidation of France. The 
France. J 

simpler phases of this process are comprehensible 

to pupils in the secondary school. 

Louis XL ( 1 461-1483) : and Charles the Bold of Bur- 
gundy, Louis seizes the Duchy on the death of Charles (1477), 
treaty of Arras separates Walloon Flanders from France (1482), 
Louis receives Anjou and Provence at the death of King Rene 
(1480), and of his nephew (1482), together with the claim on 
Naples ; Brittany annexed by marriage of Charles VIII. and 
Anne (149 1). 

Monarchy in France : gradually gains the right to tax within 
the domain of the seigneurs, gradually subordinates the seign- 
eurial courts to the royal courts, permanent land tax in 1439, 
permanent standing army, all the great fiefs belong to royal 
domain. 

Yorkist and Lancastrian : Wars of the Roses, Richard III., 
his treatment of the Princes, Henry Tudor's claim, battle of 
Bosworth Field (1485). 

The Tudor monarchy : weakness of the nobility, royal author- 
ity strengthened by Court of Star Chamber ; arbitrary taxation, 
benevolences, forced loans, use of the Statute of Liveries ; suc- 
cession of Henry VJII. (1509), execution of Empson and 
Dudley, marriage with Catherine of Aragon. 

Germany : the Hapsburgs, development of the Electoral 
College, the mark of Brandenburg, the Teutonic Knights in 
Prussia, the Golden Bull of Charles IV. (1356), the schemes 
of Maximilian. 1 

Ltaly : in the fifteenth century. 

The Church : nature of the papal court, gradual extension of 
papal jurisdiction over appointments, methods of taxing the 
church, premonitions of trouble, the Schism, the Reforming 
Councils, WyclirTe and Huss, the popes during the Age of 
Despots. 2 

Spain and Portugal : struggle of the Christians against the 
Moors, growth of the four kingdoms — Aragon, Castile, Navarre, 

1 Bryce ; The Golden Bull in Henderson, 220-261. 

2 Penn. Tr. 6° Pp., III. No. 6., particularly 26-33, containing the 
decrees of the Council of Constance and current criticisms of the church. 
Penn. Tr. 6° Pp., II. No. 5, pp. 9 ff. on Wycliffe and the Lollards. 



MEDIAEVAL HISTORY 279 

Portugal; marriage of Ferdinand and Isabella (1469), conquest 
of Grenada (1492), marriage of Joan, daughter of Ferdinand 
and Isabella to Philip the Handsome, son of Maximilian of 
Austria and Mary of Burgundy, with the results of this marriage 
in the consolidation of territory in the hands of the future 
Charles V. 1 

Advance of the Turks : rise of the Ottomans, they enter 
Europe (1356), conquer Hadrianople (1360), under Bajazet 
(1389-1402) they leave to the Empire only Chalcidice and the 
region immediately about Constantinople, fall of Constantinople 
0453)- 2 

Immediately before the treatment of the Renaissance there 

should be a survey of the characteristics of mediaeval life so far 

as they have not been touched incidentally. This 

J Mediaeval Life. 

should include a brief study of some of the great 

pieces of architecture, like the cathedrals at Chartres, Amiens, 
Canterbury, Durham, and Paris ; an account of the develop- 
ment of the Universities ; of the appearance of the new orders 
of preaching friars, the Dominicans and the Franciscans ; 
besides topics taken from the mode of living among different 
classes of people. 3 

It is difficult to give an adequate treatment of the Renais- 
sance, because it is a movement remote from the experience of 

any but older and more cultivated persons. The _, 

J . . r Renaissance. 

Renaissance was a revival of learning, a discovery 
of antiquity, a quickening to critical questions, an awakening of 
the mind to interests which had been stifled during the Middle 
Ages, the cultivation of a finer taste in literature and in art, and 
as a condition for the development of all these tendencies, 
the revolt of the individual against tradition and authority. It 
is only the outward manifestation of these things that the pupil 
can appreciate, — the search for old manuscripts, the study of 
Greek, and printing of the ancient works, the erection of beau- 

1 Burke, Spain, Lane-Poole, Moors in Spain ; Stephens, Portugal. 

2 Finlay, Greece ; Oman, Byzantine Empire. 

3 Sturgis, European Architecture, Rashdall, Universities, Compayre, 
Abelard and the Origin and Early History of Universities, Penn. Tr. cr 3 
Rp., II. No. 3, The Mediceval Student. 



280 MEDIEVAL HISTORY 

tiful buildings, and the pictures painted by men like Michael 
Angelo and Raphael. 

It is particularly important that the pupils understand that 
this movement began long before Constantinople was captured 
by the Turks. Its beginnings go back at least to the revived 
study of the Roman Law in Italy in the days of Frederick Bar- 
barossa. Petrarch was its greatest apostle in the fourteenth 
century. Greek teachers began their work before this century 
had closed. The dawn came slowly; it was no sudden burst of 
light in the last years of the fifteenth century. 

Renaissance; Dante, Petrarch, the Greeks in Italy, creation 
of libraries, Michael Angelo and Raphael, invention of printing, 
the books first printed, famous printers, Erasmus and his Greek 
Testament, the Oxford reformers. 1 

In dealing with the Reformation the difficulties are of an- 
other sort. Its results are still matters of controversy between 

the Protestant churches that sprang into being 

Reformation. _ , _ . .. , , , . , . ° . , ° 

and the Catholic church, which in a special sense 

is the heir of the mediaeval church. But it is possible largely to 
avoid the difficulties of the subject by approaching it from a 
purely historical point of view. And the object of including it 
with the mediaeval history in a single treatment facilitates the 
matter. The Reformation did destroy the unity of the medi- 
aeval church and so brought the Middle Ages to a close. Just 
how this change was accomplished, and by what legal settle- 
ments public acknowledgment was made that the old order 
was destroyed, is the aim of the study of this subject. Topics 
that are likely to arouse controversy cannot altogether be omitted, 
but it should be the aim of the teacher to describe what actu- 
ated the different parties or leaders without insisting that one 

1 Whitcomb's Source Books of the Italian and the German Renais- 
sance. Penn. Tr. &= Rp., No. I, for selections on the Oxford Reformers. 
Froude's and Emerton's Biographies of Erasmus and Seebohm's Oxford 
Reformers contain translations from his letters and writings. Roper's 
Life of More with the Utopia in the Pitt Press series. Symonds, The 
Renaissance in Italy; Burckhardt, The Italian Renaissance; Creighton, 
History of the Papacy during the Reformation ; Robinson, Petrarch. 



MEDIEVAL HISTORY 281 

body of opinion was reasonable while another was absurd. Of 
course there should be no attempt to please everybody by 
" whitewashing " deeds that are black : the truth should be told, 
but the teacher should understand that historical facts are one 
thing and that the truth of creeds or systems of church govern- 
ment and discipline is quite another thing. 

Reformation: Political situation in 15 19, power wielded by 
Charles V. (1519-1556), danger to France from such a territo- 
rial combination, position of the French in Italy, attitude of the 
pope in consequence. 

Luther's early religious experience, elements of oppression in 
the management of the church system of penance through the 
sale of indulgences, nature of Luther's attack, his gradual aliena- 
tion from the church ; appeals to Scripture and sound reasoning 
before Charles V. (15 21), why the ban of the Empire was not 
effective, results of the decision at Worms in the rivalry between 
Charles and Francis L, Francis a prisoner at Madrid (1525), 
reopening of the struggle with the pope on the side of France, 
sack of Rome by the imperial army (1527), triumphs of 
Charles, futile effort to bring Zwingli and Luther to agreement 
at Marburg, the diet and confession of Augsburg (1530) ; the 
League of Schmalkald, death of Luther, war in Germany (1547- 
1548), the attempt of Charles to settle the religious question 
apart from the pope ; rising of Germany under leadership of 
Maurice, Religious Peace of Augsburg grants power to the 
princes of settling religion as either Catholic or Lutheran. 1 

Henry Eighth's quarrel with the pope over the Divorce, the 
Reformation parliament cuts away papal prerogatives in Eng- 
land, makes Henry the head of the Church (1534), destroys the 
monasteries, which takes the mitred abbots out of the House of 
Lords, Henry's religious settlement, Protestant misrule in the 
days of Edward VI. (1547-1553), the reaction under Mary, 
Elizabeth's settlement (1559), with acts of Supremacy and Uni- 
formity, the attempt to maintain a comprehensive national 
church. 2 



1 Penn. Tr. 6° Rp., II. No. 6, Period of the Early Reformation in Ger- 
many, The Later Reformation; Hazlitt's Luther's Table Talk (Bohn) ; 
Wace and Bucheim, Luther's Primary Works, Schaff's Creeds of Christen- 
dom. Kostlin, Luther; Beard, Luther. Creighton, Vol. V. Ranke, Ger- 
many during the Reformation; Seebohm, Protestant Revolution (Epochs) . 

2 Source Books. Prothero, Statutes and Documents, 1 559-1 625. 
Froude, History of England ; Brewer, Henry VIII. 



282 MEDIAEVAL HISTORY 

Francis I. (15 15-1547) and the French reformers, Calvin's 
career until he fled from France, The Institutes of the Chris- 
tian Religion, attempt to crush the reformers under Henry II., 
edicts by which the Huguenots in 15 61 and 1562 were given a 
legal status. 1 

List of Dates : — 

395. Death of Theodosius ; division of the imperial power. 

410. Alaric captures Rome and sacks the city. 

451. Battle of Chalons (two years after invasion of Britain 
is begun). 

476. "Fall of Rome." 

486. Clovis conquers Syagrius and establishes the Franks in 
Gaul. 

565. Death of Justinian. 

622. The Hegira. 

732. Moors defeated by Charles Martel at Tours. 

800. Coronation of Charlemagne at Rome. 

843. Treaty of Verdun ; beginning of France and Germany. 

878. Peace of Wedmore between Alfred and the Danes. 

962. Coronation of Otto the Great at Rome. 

987. Hugh Capet crowned king. 

1066. The Norman Conquest of England. 

1096. Beginning of the First Crusade. 

1 122. Concordat of Worms. 

1 187. Capture of Jerusalem by Saladin. 

12 15. Magna Charta. 

1265. Beginning of the representation of the towns in 
Parliament. 

1273. Rudolph of Hapsburg chosen Emperor. 

1328. End of the Direct Capetians in France. 

1348. The Black Death. 

1384. Death of Wycliffe. 

1420. Treaty of Troyes. 

1453. Fall of Constantinople : English driven from France. 

1485. Battle of Bos worth Field : beginning of the Tudor 
monarchy. 

15 2 1. Luther appears before the Diet at Worms. 

1534. English Act of Supremacy. 

1555. Religious Peace of Augsburg. 

1 Penn. Tr. 6° Rp., III. No. 3, Period of the Later Reformation, 
Baird's Rise 0/ the Huguenots. 



CHAPTER XVI 

THE EXPANSION OF EUROPE: THE FOUNDING- OF 
AMERICA 

BIBLIOGRAPHY. 

Selected Sources {for school use) : — 

Already mentioned, Chap. XV., Colby, Henderson, Kendall, Lee. 

Adams, C. K. Representative British Orations. New York, G. P. 
Putnam's Sons. London, C. W. Deacon & Co. 

Caldwell 5 H. W. A Survey of American History. Chicago, 
Ainsworth & Co. 

Caldwell, H. W. Great American Legislators. Chicago, Ainsworth 
& Co. Extracts from letters, speeches, public papers, etc. 

Gardiner, S. R. Constitutional Documents of the Puritan Revolu- 
tion. Oxford, Clarendon Press. Especially valuable for teachers. 

Hart, A. B. American History told by Contemporaries. In 4 vols. 
London and New York, Macmillan. 

Hart, A. B. Source Book of American History. London and New 
York, Macmillan. More elementary than the " Contemporaries." 

• Hart, A. B., and Charming, E. American History Leaflets. 30 nos. 
New York, A. Lovell & Co. 

Hill, M. Liberty Documents. A Working Book in Constitutional 
History. New York and London, Longmans, Green & Co. 

Johnston, Alexander. Representative American Orations to illus- 
trate American Political History. 4 vols. New York and London, 
G. P. Putnam's Sons. 

Macdonald, William. Select Charters illustrative of American His- 
tory (1606-1775). London and New York, Macmillan. 

Old South Leaflets. Boston, D. C. Heath & Co. 1883. 

Preston, H. W. Documents illustrative of American History (1606- 
1863). New York and London, G. P. Putnam's Sons. 

Prothero, G. W. Statutes and Constitutional Documents (1559— 
1625). Oxford, Clarendon Press. 

Maps : — 
See those mentioned Chaps. XII. and XV. 

Larger General Works : — 

Already "mentioned, Chap. XV., Bright, Gardiner, Green, Kitchin, 
Traill. 



284 THE FOUNDING OF AMERICA 

Bancroft, G. A History of the United States. 6 vols. (The Author's 
Last Revision.) New York, Appleton & Co. London, S. Low & Co. 
1883-1885. 

Doyle, J. A. The English in America. 3 vols. London, Longmans, 
Green & Co. New York, H. Holt & Co. 

Fiske, John. The Discovery of America. 2 vols. The Beginnings 
of New England. Old Virginia and her Neighbors. 2 vols. The 
Dutch and Quaker Colonies. 2 vols. The American Revolution. 2 vols. 
Boston, Houghton, Mifflin & Co. London, Macmillan & Co. 

Froude, J. A. History of England. 12 vols. London, Longmans, 
Green & Co. New York, Charles Scribner's Sons. 

Gardiner, S. R. A History of England (from 1603). London and 
New York, Longmans, Green & Co. 

Lecky, "W. E. H. A History of England in the Eighteenth Century. 
8 vols. London, Longmans, Green & Co. New York, D. Appleton 
&Co. 

Macaulay, T. B. History of England. London and New York, 
Longmans, Green & Co. 

Palfrey, J. G. History of New England. 5 vols. Boston, Little, 
Brown & Co. 

Parkman, Francis. France and England in North America. 9 vols. 
Boston, Little, Brown & Co. London, Macmillan & Co. 

Perkins, J. B. France under Richelieu and Mazarin. 2 vols. New 
York and London, G. P. Putnam's Sons. France under the Regency. 
Boston, Houghton, Mifflin & Co. France under Louis XV. 2 vols. 
Boston, Houghton, Mifflin & Co. 

Ranke, L. A History of England, principally in the Seventeenth 
Century. 6 vols. Oxford, Clarendon Press. 

Trevelyan (Sir G. O.). The American Revolution, I. (1766-1776). 
London and New York, Longmans, Green & Co. 

Tuttle, Herbert. History of Prussia. 4 vols. Boston, Houghton, 
Mifflin & Co. 

Winsor, Justin (editor). The Narrative and Critical History of 
America. 8 vols. Boston, Houghton, Mifflin & Co. 

Smaller General Works : — 

See Chap. XV. for books bearing also on this period. 

Bourinot, J. G. Canada. London, T. F. Unwin. New York, G. P. 
Putnam's Sons. 

Charming, Edward. The United States of America (1765-1865). 
New York, The Macmillan Co. Cambridge, University Press. 

Fisher, G. P. The Colonial Era. New York, Charles Scribner's Sons. 
London, S. Low & Co. 

Gardiner, S. R. The Puritan Revolution. London and New York, 
Longmans, Green & Co. 

Hart, A. B. Formation of the Union. New York and London, 
Longmans, Green & Co. 



THE FOUNDING OF AMERICA 285 

Hassall, Arthur. The Balance of Power (171 5-1789). London, 
Rivingtons. New York, Macmillan. 

Higginson, T. W. Larger History of the United States. New 
York, Harper & Bros. 

Lodge, H. C. The English Colonies in America. New York, 
Harper & Bros. London, S. Low & Co. 

Sloane, W. M. The French War and the Revolution. New York, 
Charles Scribner's Sons. 

Smith, Goldwin. The United States, an Outline of Political History 
(1492-1871). London and New York, Macmillan. 

Thwaites, R. G-. The Colonies. New York and London, Longmans, 
Green & Co. 

Wakeman, H. O. The Ascendency of France (1508-17 15). London, 
Rivingtons. New York, The Macmillan Co. 

Special Works: — 

See also Chap. XV. 

Bruce, P. A. Economic History of Virginia. New York, Macmillan. 

Egerton, H. A. Short History of British Colonial Policy. London, 
Mathuen & Co. New York, New Amsterdam Book Co. 

Lucas, G. P. Introduction to a Historical Geography of the British 
Colonies. Oxford, Clarendon Press (1887). A compendious account 
of colonization. 

Mahan, A. T. Influence of the Sea Power on History. Boston, 
Little, Brown & Co. London, S. Low & Co. 

Payne, E. J. European Colonies. New York and London, Mac- 
millan (1877). 

Seeley, J. R. The Expansion of England. London, Macmillan Co. 
Boston, Little, Brown & Co. 

Weeden, W. B. Economic and Social History of New England. 
2 vols. Boston, Houghton, Mifflin & Co. 

Maps : — 

See those already mentioned. 

Hart, A. B. Epoch Maps illustrating American History. New York, 
Longmans, Green & Co. 

MacCoun, T. Historical Geography of the United States. Boston, 
Silver, Burdett & Co. 

MacCoun, T. Historical Charts of the United States. Boston, 
Silver, Burdett & Co. 

Guides : — 

See remarks on Allen, Bacheler, Channing and Hart, and Wilder, 
pp. 121-122. 

Appleton's Cyclopedia of American Biography gives brief accounts 
of distinguished men. The articles in the English Dictionary of Na- 
tional Biography are more detailed and valuable. A few additional 
references are given in connection with topics of a special character. 



286 THE FOUNDING OF AMERICA 

In the chapter on the Programme for History it was sug- 
gested that the work in the third year of the secondary school 
as well as in the seventh year of the elementary 
America^ scno °l should be the founding of America, from 
the beginning of the discoveries to the close of 
the American Revolutionary War, as an important phase of 
the expansion of Europe. Although this suggestion may com- 
mend itself to some teachers, there are practical obstacles 
which may deter them from an attempt to carry out the plan. 
Accordingly any discussion of the period in order to be of use 
to the larger number of teachers must be adapted so far as 
possible to other schemes. It will be the chief aim of the 
explanations which follow to show how American colonial his- 
tory may be taught from English history as the point of view 
and with glimpses of those features of the history of Europe 
which are necessary to a comprehension of either England or 
America. Those who wish to use the material in directing the 
separate study of English history may lay more emphasis upon 
the purely English parts of the scheme, while those who prefer 
to keep to the customary method of teaching American history 
can emphasize the American parts. 

There are special difficulties in attempting to distinguish 
between what should be taught in the elementary school and 

In Elementar w ^ at ^& n scn00 ^ P U P^ S are able to understand. If, 
and Secondary as in a German gymnasium, it were known that the 
pupil who takes the course in the elementary 
school is to traverse the field once more in the secondary school, 
the question of the selection of matter and the method of 
presentation would be less difficult. Under American condi- 
tions it may be necessary to teach in the elementary school 
phases of a subject which in Germany would be deferred until 
the powers of the pupil were more mature. And yet the man- 
ner of presenting the subject to the pupils of the two grades 
must differ because the pupils differ. Not only must the sub- 
ject be explained, the pupils must be instructed. The younger 
the pupils are the more difficult the problem of teaching 



THE FOUNDING OF AMERICA 287 

becomes. In this chapter, therefore, the nature of the subject 
will be discussed mainly with the pupil of the secondary school 
in mind, leaving to a subsequent chapter the task of suggesting 
how to teach younger pupils the elements of the same subject. 

As in the secondary school the work is generally based on a 
text-book, it will be necessary to use more than one or to 
depend partly upon oral explanations. The latter plan may 
be wiser, for the purchase of text-books ie considered a burden. 
If it is possible to use two, these should be either a general % 
history and an American history or an English and an Ameri- 
can history. In the latter case it will be necessary for the 
teacher to add explanations about Europe as the part of the 
European states becomes important. 

Although the course in mediaeval history covered the field 
until about 1560, it did not include the discoveries, which are 
the first important topic of this course. There are 
several dates at which it might be brought to 
an end, but of these the most convenient is the close of 
the American Revolutionary War. There, if not earlier, the 
period of national history begins. It should not be for- 
gotten, however, that the relations of America to Europe 
remained very close until after the Napoleonic wars, and, 
indeed, until the successful revolt of the Spanish colonies made 
of the Americas predominantly a group of autonomous states. 

During this time the theme of special interest changes often, 
marking in a vague way the limits of various periods. At first 

the interest centres upon the discoveries them- „,,_ 

. ... Theme. 

selves, which so profoundly altered men's concep- 
tion of the earth, and which deposed the Mediterranean from 
its supremacy and substituted the Atlantic as the centre of the 
civilized world. It is hard to say when the discoveries came to 
an end, for in one sense they have never ceased. In another 
sense they early became subordinate to the work of settlement 
and of exploration. Magellan's voyage may be taken as the 
conclusion of the first period, or perhaps Drake's voyage, 
although Drake's object was not discovery, but rather the plun- 



288 THE FOUNDING OF AMERICA 

der of the Spanish colonies and the Spanish treasure ships. 
Before the work of settlement was completed it became sec- 
ondary in importance to the rivalry of the colonial powers. 

About the same time in the English colonies the relations of 
the mother country to her settlements are forced into the fore- 
ground. At the end of the Seven Years War and the downfall 
of the French colonial power in Canada, these relations be- 
came critical. After 1775 it was evidently impossible to com- 
pose the quarrel, and the last period is one of revolution and 
the achievement of independence. 

The course begins as a phase of the general history of Europe. 
Even those who consider colonial history chiefly as an intro- 
Object of duction to the later history of the United States 

Attention. are forced to an impartial treatment of all the dis- 
coveries. As soon as settlements are made it is the English 
settlements which absorb attention ; the French and Spanish 
colonies gain their interest by comparison and contrast. In the 
second phase of the subject, therefore, England becomes the 
centre of study, and here it is England herself more than 
the colonies that must furnish the point of view, for English- 
men made the settlements and they had no thought of becom- 
ing other than Englishmen. By the time the last phase is 
reached the centre of interest has crossed the Atlantic • it is in 
the colonies themselves. What begins as European history 
closes as American. It is the teacher's business to be so 
sensitive to such historical changes that some impression of them 
maybe communicated to the pupil. 

The work should begin with a review of those European 
states which were to share principally in the discoveries and 
later in the settlements. These states have already 
been studied as one of the products of the mediaeval 
period. They should now be examined from the new point of 
view. It is particularly important to make clear to the pupils 
the elements in the situation which gave one state an advantage 
over another for the special work of discovery and settlement. 
Some of these considerations may require more knowledge or 



THE FOUNDING OF AMERICA 289 

more capacity to think than the average pupil possesses, but 
they should be presented in a simple form. For example, the 
pupils may be asked why the Germans did not distinguish 
themselves in these enterprises, what there was in the political 
life of Germany that rendered this impossible, and what effect 
the Reformation would probably have? They could also be 
asked whether France or England, once a beginning was made, 
would be the better able to pursue successfully a colonial career ? 
Again, what there was in the history of Spain and Portugal that 
pushed these peoples forward as pioneers in the work of dis- 
covery? Such questions indicate the necessity of understand- 
ing the geographical situation of these states, their political con- 
dition, the quarrels with the neighbouring states, or the internal 
troubles that absorbed their attention, their industrial and com- 
mercial development, and the interest they possessed at the 
outset in the islands or shores on the way to the Indies, whether 
around the capes of Africa or straight west across the Atlantic. 

There should also be a review of the mediaeval trade routes, 
done concretely, so as to increase not to stifle the interest of 
the pupil. With this should go historical descriptions of the 
notions about the earth, its size, the relative distribution of land 
and water, particularly the theories of Ptolemy and the form in 
which they reappeared at the close of the Middle Ages, Marco 
Polo, and the information contained in his book about Japan 
and eastern Asia, Venice and Genoa as the great schools of 
sailors, the progress of navigation. 

In treating the discoveries, the central thought should be 
the growth through them of a more complete and correct 

knowledge of the earth. This need not be stated . 

. Discoveries, 

in so many words to the pupil, but it should con- 
trol the selection of material and the management of it. The 
voyage of Columbus must be brought into its true connection 
with the work of the Portuguese under the inspiration of Prince 
Henry the Navigator. To accomplish this, it may be well to 
begin with voyages that were made even before the days of 
Prince Henry, particularly those to the Canaries. It is unneces- 

19 



290 THE FOUNDING OF AMERICA 

sary to insist on many details of the work of Prince Henry's 
captains, but if the pupil turns from the long and often disap- 
pointing search for the cape of Africa to the scheme of Colum- 
bus, he will appreciate its boldness and the argument which 
commended it to Columbus. 

It will stimulate interest in the subject if it be presented as 
a race for the Indies, which in reality it was, — a race which 
Race for begins when Columbus concludes, partly from the 

the Indies. lengthening task of the Portuguese, that it would 
be easier to find the Indies by the bold project of sailing 
directly westward, and when he finally succeeds in enlisting the 
support of Spain. The elements of this race are (a) the dis- 
covery of the Cape of Good Hope by Diaz, in i486 ; (b) the 
discovery by Columbus, in 1492, of the West Indies, which 
lay in front of the great barrier continents ; (/) Vasco da Gama's 
voyage to India in 1497-1498; (d) Albuquerque's seizure of 
Malacca and the Spice Islands in 15 it and 15 12, before (e) 
Balboa discovered the South Sea, and ten years before (/) Ma- 
gellan reached the Philippines. In this race the Portuguese were 
successful, but the Spaniards eventually found greater advantage 
in the obstacle that had hindered them than did the Portuguese 
in the wealth of the Indies. 

Topics: rediscovery of the Madeiras, the Canaries, and the 
Azores. Prince Henry the Navigator, passing of Cape Bojador, 
effect of the discovery that the African coast turned southward 
beyond coast of Guinea, manner in which Diaz passed the 
southern point of Africa. 1 

Columbus and Toscanelli's theories, the Toscanelli map, 
coasts touched in the first voyage, later voyages, his own view 
of what he had accomplished. 2 

Da Gama's Voyage to India, comparison between his achieve- 
ment and that of Columbus. 8 

John Cabot, question about Sebastian Cabot's part in the 
discovery. 

1 Prince Henry : biographies by Major and Beazley ; E. G. Bourne, 
Essays in Historical Criticism, 173 ff. 

2 Columbus : biographies by C. K. Adams, Markham, and Winsor. 
* Fiske, I. 498. 



THE FOUNDING OF AMERICA 29 1 

After this first group of discoveries is studied, it would be 
well to explain the questions which were still unsolved, showing 
what these were from contemporary maps, particularly the 
Cantino map of 1502, and that made by Bartholomew Columbus 
in the same year. 1 If these be compared with Toscanelli's 
map and Behaim's Globe, the progress of knowledge will clearly 
appear. 

In connection with the attempt by the " Demarcation 
Line" 2 to establish the respective limits of Spanish and Por- 
tuguese control, the pupil should understand that this control 
was exclusive, and that sailors of other lands entered those 
waters at the peril of their lives. Illustrations : destruction of 
Fort Caroline, 1565 ; careers of Hawkins and Drake, the 
Buccaneers. 

In the topics given above, the minor voyages are not men- 
tioned. These may be added at the discretion of the teacher, 
but it is better that the pupils gain clear ideas of the great 
achievements than simply be acquainted with a long list of dis- 
coveries. After this work is understood, there should be a 
study of the way in which some of the most important ques- 
tions which had been left were answered. 

Topics: Balboa and the South Sea, Magellan's voyage; 
conquest of Mexico and Peru ; expeditions of Ponce de Leon, 
De Soto, and of Coronado. 3 

Compare the work of the Portuguese in the east ; capture of 
Malacca in 15 11, beginning of trade with China in 1517, pos- 
sible discovery of Australia in 1530. 4 

During this time of discovery the Spaniards had been organ- 
izing their conquests, and discovery was passing into settlement. 
It will make the later history of America plainer if there is a 
preliminary study of what the Spaniards attempted. 

1 Charming, Students History of the United States, 32. 

2 E. G. Bourne, in Essay in Historical Criticism, 193 ff. 

3 Magellan, biography by Guillemand ; Mexico and Peru, Prescott ; 
Sir Arthur Helps ; note contemporary narratives by Gomara and Her- 
nando Pizarro, given in Hart, Contemporaries, 49 ff ., 53 ff. 

4 Beazley, 308 ff. 



292 THE FOUNDING OF AMERICA 

Topics : how were the new lands regarded ? regulation of 
trade, arbitrary government and its control, right of Spaniards 
to proceed to America, treatment of the Indians, slavery in the 
West Indies. 1 



The pupils should understand the immense advantage which 
Spain possessed at the end of the first half century after the 
Spanish Colo- early discoveries. By the "New Laws" of 1542, 
nial System. Spain had reached the stage of perfecting an organ- 
ization of her colonial empire before either England or France 
had made an effective settlement, indeed before England had 
attempted one. All the resources of France had been needed, 
until the middle of the century, to carry on the struggle with 
the Spanish-Hapsburg power. England, also, until Elizabeth's 
day, was too much engrossed with domestic affairs to follow up 
the work of Cabot. 

Save what the Spaniards had accomplished, the work of set- 
tlement began in the seventeenth century and received its char- 
Work of acter from the European nations which took part 
England. m j t< England laid the more important founda- 
tions. For this reason, and because England made the settle- 
ments out of which America gradually was developed, English 
history becomes henceforth the starting-point of thought. It 
is necessary to understand Elizabethan England, as well as the 
England of the Stuarts, if one would understand the charac- 
teristics of the early colonies in America. The other nations 
that did important work were the French and the Dutch. 
Something of their history must be known in order to under- 
stand Canada and the settlements in the Hudson river region. 
Moreover, it would be difficult to study intelligently even the 
elements of English history during Elizabeth's time without 
studying French and Dutch history also, for Elizabeth was 
finally dragged into the tragedy of the religious conflict on the 



1 For theory, Seeley ; for organization, trade, etc., Moses, 27 ff., 55 ff., 
68 ff., 263 ff. ; for treatment of Indians, Fiske, II. 427-482 ; for slavery, 
same, and Ingram, History of Slavery. 



THE FOUNDING OF AMERICA 293 

Continent, in which the Dutch were struggling to rid themselves 
of their Spanish masters, and in which the French appear now 
on one side or the other, according as the Huguenots or their 
enemies are in control of the French kings. 

In the following list of topics, while England is emphasized, 
the attempt will be made to suggest enough of the history of 
France and of Holland for the pupil to see the relation of this 
period to other parts of their career, and at the same time 
better to comprehend the character of the French and Dutch 
settlements in America. 

Topics (introductory) : Queen Elizabeth, characteristics, 
classes of Englishmen ; Archbishop Parker's policy, Puritans, 
Separatists, Recusants ; Elizabeth's treatment of the House of 
Commons, Lord Burleigh ; the great sailors, Hawkins, Drake, 
his voyage around the world, Raleigh. 1 

There are reasons for treating this material as a part of the 
story of the reign chronologically told, but the development of 
that story should be simplified so far as possible, for it requires 
the attention of the pupil from the time when Mary, the deposed 
queen of Scotland, appears in England, to the defeat of the 
Armada or even to the death of Elizabeth. 

By the year 1566 the affairs of Spain, the Netherlands, 
France, England, and Scotland became intermingled, so that 
Elizabeth, in spite of her efforts to hold aloof, was gradually 
dragged into the European conflict. The history of England 
became in a measure the history of Europe. From the con- 
flict England emerged strong enough to undertake the work 
of colonization which was to begin early in the seventeenth 
century. Before this struggle is studied, it is necessary to 
understand the situation outside England. 



1 It is particularly important to use the source books for such topics. 
The narratives of the voyages, for example, in Hart's Contemporaries 
and in Lee will interest the pupils. In Prothero's Introduction, with the 
documents referred to there, the teacher will obtain a clear idea of the 
Elizabethan Parliament. For the Recusants, Lingard. Lord Burleigh : 
biography by M. A. S. Hume. 



294 THE FOUNDING OF AMERICA 

For the Dutch ; review the origin of the connection between 
the Netherlands and Spain, Philip Second's treatment of the 
Netherlands, the Beggars, the coming of Alva and the revolt. 1 

For France : the heiress of the Scotch crown becomes queen 
of France, her relatives, the Guises, the leaders of the conserva- 
tive Catholic party. Mary's claim to the English throne, and 
Elizabeth's intervention in Scotland. Mary returns to Scotland, 
Catherine de' Medici, the Huguenots and their enemies, char- 
acter of the civil war over the religious question. 2 

The Conflict : Mary Stuart in Scotland, her schemes and her 
overthrow, takes refuge in England. 1568 ; Elizabeth excommu- 
nicated by the pope 1570 ; Ridolphi plot ; Alva ordered to in- 
vade England, capture of Brill, April, 1572; the Huguenots 
under Coligny urge French king to invade the Netherlands, 
Massacre of St. Bartholomew in August ; Union of Utrecht, 
1579; Parliament passes severe laws against the Recusants, 
1581, Elizabeth dismisses the Spanish ambassador, Jan., 1584; 
murder of William of Orange, July, 1584 ; the Association to 
protect Elizabeth. Execution of Mary Stuart, 1587 • defeat of 
the Armada, 1588 ; Elizabeth's ally, Henry IV., begins his 
struggle for throne of France, 1589; Henry declares war on 
Spain, 1595; Edict of Nantes, 1598; France and Spain 
make peace, 1598; England and Spain make peace, 1603; 
Twelve years Truce of Holland and Spain begins, 1609. 3 

These topics might be made more detailed, but they suggest 
the course of the conflict. The dates are added for the sake 
of clearness, not to indicate that they should be learned by the 
pupil. 

During this struggle an event occurred which was to impel the 
rising Dutch Republic to push its maritime ventures into 
the eastern seas. Portugal fell into the hands of Spain, and 
the Dutch sailors, who had profited largely by the carrying 
trade of other European ports with Lisbon, especially since 

1 Blok, History of the Netherlands ; Motley's works, brief treatment 
in Hume's Philip II. and in Harrison's William the Silent. 

2 Baird's Rise of the Huguenots, 2 vols., Huguenots and Henry of 
Navarre, 2 vols., treat subject from evangelical Protestant standpoint. 
Ranke, Civil Wars and Monarchy in France. 

3 Laws against Recusants, Prothero, 83 ff., 92 ff. ; Mildmay, " Con- 
cerning the Keeping of the Queen of Scots," in Kendall, 164 ff. ; 
Armada, Kendall, 178 ff . ; Lee, 309 ff. 



THE FOUNDING OF AMERICA 295 

their revolt from Spain, were compelled to seek the products 
of the east in the east itself. In the next century they were to 
build up a trade empire on the ruins of Portuguese enterprise. 

With these facts about the work of the sixteenth century in 
mind, the pupil is ready to put the English colonies in their 
historical setting. In order to keep them there, it will be neces- 
sary to pursue the same method after the era of colonization 
begins. 

Until the death of Charles, it is possible to study the Eng- 
lish colonies as incidents in the reigns of James and Charles, 
for they are certainly among the most significant phenomena 
of the period. The work of the Dutch and that of the French 
are interesting for comparison. It is best to separate the first 
settlements of the French in Canada from the better organized 
efforts during the reign of Louis XIV. 

If American colonial history is managed in this way, some of 
the customary details must be omitted. There is already a 
tendency among teachers to shorten the treatment Local colonial 
of the colonial period in order to emphasize the History, 
more purely national history after 1783. Many facts of the 
early history of the colonies possess only a local interest, they 
have little significance for the movement as a whole. Such 
facts may be taught in the communities which they chiefly 
concern, for if they are omitted from the general treatment, 
there will be room for a more careful and detailed study of 
that which is important from the point of view of the whole 
country. 

Topics, 1 603-1 649 : character of James I., quarrel with the 
Puritans, vexation of the Catholics and the Gunpowder Plot, 
the Separatists go to Holland. 

Founding of Jamestown, danger from Spain, arbitrary gov- 
ernment under the first charters, policy of the Puritan managers 
of the Company leads to organization of the representative 
assembly of 16 19, quarrel of James with the Puritans over arbi- 
trary taxation and royal power, royal government substituted 
in Jamestown for rule of Company. 

Plymouth, Mayflower voyage, the Compact, communistic 



296 THE FOUNDING OF AMERICA 

system of industry and its abandonment, development of repre- 
sentative government, relations with the Indians. 

Charles breaks with Spain, the Thirty Years War and the 
reasons why England held aloof; Petition of Right, Charles 
attempts to govern without Parliament, Laud's efforts to intro- 
duce uniformity ; motives of the Puritan emigration to Massa- 
chusetts Bay, these Puritans imitate the Independents of 
Plymouth in church government, character of their charter, 
evolution of representative government; Roger Williams and 
the founding of Providence ; emigration of Connecticut, found- 
ing of New Haven; Union of 1643. The Calverts and the 
purpose of the Maryland settlement. 

Charles attempts to levy ship money, causes of the trouble 
with the Scots, which necessitates the summoning of the Long 
Parliament, Parliament seizes supreme power, Strafford put to 
death, the king attempts to retaliate by accusing members of 
Parliament of high treason, civil war; rise of Cromwell, the 
Eastern Association, Solemn League and Covenant taken to 
procure aid from the Scots, Marston Moor, the Self-Denying 
Ordinance, the New Model, Naseby; causes of the second 
war, for instigating which Charles is tried and executed. 1 

While following such a line of thought as this, the teacher 
must summon to his aid all the picturesque incidents that give 
definiteness and quality to the story of England and the 
colonies. The historical curiosity of pupils is feeble. They 
are not so eager in their search for causes that they can go 
forward without some impression of the life and movement 
which belong to great events. The figures of the period 
should be made familiar : for England, James, Charles, Pym, 
Laud, and Cromwell; for the colonies, Captain John Smith, 
Governor Bradford, John Winthrop, and Roger" Williams. 

1 Here, as in dealing with other topics, the teacher must distinguish 
between sources which he should study and those which he may ask 
the pupils to study. They may read Bradford's account of " Why the 
Pilgrims left England for Holland" (Hart, Contemporaries, 167 ff.), but 
they will not appreciate the Petition of Right (Lee, 348 ff.), which the 
teacher, however, cannot wisely neglect. He may also study with 
advantage the documents, Prothero (307 ff.), on the quarrel with James 
about religion and parliamentary privileges, and in' Gardiner (41 ff.) on 
the ship money case, as well as others, altogether beyond the attain- 
ments of his pupils. 



THE FOUNDING OF AMERICA 297 

At the conclusion of the study, it would be well to sum up 
the principal features of English colonization by comparing 
these with what the pupil has already learned of English 
the policy of Spain. The function of the Com- System, 
panies can also better be understood by explaining briefly the 
English and Dutch East India Companies and their aims by 
way of contrast. 

The close relation of affairs in England and in America is 
clear from one or two additional facts. The early attacks on 
the Massachusetts charter failed because Charles I. interaction 
was too deeply engaged in the success of his ^ England 
scheme of government by prerogative to pursue and America. 
the matter persistently. Furthermore, the creation of Massa- 
chusetts Bay Colony was due to the tyranny of Charles and his 
archbishop which impelled the Nonconformists, as Professor 
Channing remarks, to " make use of their charter and to found 
a colony in New England, where they would be far away from 
king and archbishop." Professor Channing also says that the 
downfall of Laud " led to an abrupt termination of Puritan 
emigration from England ; indeed, the movement began in the 
other direction, and many of the leading New England colo- 
nists exercised great influence in England during the time of 
the Commonwealth and Protectorate." 1 During the troubles 
in England a question arose which anticipated the quarrel with 
Parliament over a century later. Some of the English Puritans 
suggested that since power had fallen into the hands of Parlia- 
ment and of a Puritan Parliament at that, Parliament might 
undertake the enactment of such legislation as Massachusetts 
desired. Winthrop declined, " lest in . . . after times . . . 
hostile forces might be in control, and meantime a precedent 
might have been established." The relations of the parliamen- 
tary party with Virginia are no less interesting. 

The character of the English colonies will become still clearer 
after the study of Dutch and French colonial enterprises. 



Channing, Students' History of the United States, 95. 



298 THE FOUNDING OF AMERICA 

For the Dutch settlemefits the principal topics are : voyage 
and explorations of Hudson, the claims of the West India 
Company founded on these discoveries, patroonships, status 
of ordinary settlers, Stuyvesant and self-government at New 
Amsterdam, quarrel with New England over jurisdiction. 1 

For the French settlement during the early period : Cartier, 
France under Henry IV., grant to De Monts, Acadia, Cham- 
plain and his explorations, foundation of Quebec and Montreal, 
anxiety of Champlain for the religious character of the colony, 
the Jesuit missionaries ; the crushing of the Huguenot 
La Rochelle, and the Huguenot sailors who helped the Eng- 
lish capture Quebec in 1629 ; 2 Thirty Years War and the 
ambitions of France, one reason why colonization in Canada 
was not more actively pushed. 

The appearance of Huguenot sailors in the English fleet 
that captured Quebec in 1629 is a striking illustration of how 
closely interwoven were the affairs of all the colonizing Euro- 
pean states during this period. In itself the capture is with- 
out particular significance. 

Of the three countries, England, Holland, and France, for- 
tune at first favoured the English in the work of colonization, 
for the very troubles of England strengthened the English settle- 
ments in America, the emigration thither being checked only 
by the turn of affairs in 1640, while France after 1626 was too 
deeply engaged against Spain and the Empire to think much 
of colonies, and Holland after 162 1 was obliged to fight against 
Spain until the peace of Westphalia. 

With the execution of King Charles the situation increases in 
complexity. Several distinct lines of development appear, and 
it is more difficult to adhere to any division into 
periods. These different interests are England and 
her rivals, first the Dutch, and then the French ; the domestic 
history of England, including the rule of Cromwell and the Res- 
toration ; the attempt to establish Stuart tyranny in England and 



1 Fiske, The Dtitch and Quaker Colonies. 

2 Parkman's works are the classic treatment of this subject ; see also 
Winsor, From Cartier to Froittenac. For relations of France to Thirty 
Years War, Perkins or Kitchin. 



THE FOUNDING OF AMERICA 299 

in America ; the gradual separation of interest between Eng- 
land and the colonies as a consequence of the Navigation Acts 
and of other acts in restraint of trade. Of these the relations 
of the English to the Dutch are often ignored, although without 
some knowledge of these the original aim of the Navigation 
Acts will be misunderstood and the capture of New Amster- 
dam in 1664 will not be placed in its true setting. 

The Navigation Acts of 165 1, 1660, and the following years, 
were devised to cripple Dutch carrying trade, rather than to 
annoy or cramp the colonies. England's early Navigation 
trade policy had been singularly liberal, permitting Acts - 
trade between the colonies and foreign countries, but as early 
as 1628 the Dutch were recognised as the true enemies of Eng- 
land by at least one or two far-sighted men. Thomas Mun 
declared, " They undermine, hurt, and eclipse us daily in our 
navigation and trade." x During the early part of the century 
the Dutch controlled the carrying trade of Europe as com- 
pletely as did England a century later. Against this supremacy 
the Act of 1 65 1 was directed. Such a step, combined with the 
causes of irritation that already existed, brought on the war of 
165 2-1654. And the supplementary acts were largely respon- 
sible for the war of 1664-166 7, in which New Amsterdam was 
conquered. In 1670 came the famous Treaty of Dover, by 
which Charles II. became the paid agent of Louis XIV., but so 
great was the jealousy of the English mercantile interest toward 
the Dutch, who at this time were really fighting for the cause of 
liberty against the French king and a new Catholic reaction, 
that the cry was heard in Parliament, " Delenda est Carthago," 
and the English joined the French in the war of 1672. Before 
this war was over, New York fell into the hands of the Dutch 
again, but was restored to the English in 1674. At this time, 
in the presence of a new danger, the enmity between England 
and Holland began to abate. The daughter of the Duke 
of York, the Princess Mary, was married to the Prince of 



1 Egerton, Short History of British Colonial Policy, 62. Quoted from 
a pamphlet which was not printed until 1664. 



300 THE FOUNDING OF AMERICA 

Orange, the leader of the opposition to Louis XIV. A new 
era was about to begin, during which events more important 
than the transfer of New Amsterdam to the English were to take 
place, — the series of wars which ended in the downfall of the 
French power in America. The lines of division for the epochs 
vary according as one studies the internal history of England 
and her colonies or the way in which both were affected by 
world politics. In the first case the events from 1637 to 1688 
form one long revolutionary struggle, and each must be ex- 
amined as part of a whole. In the second case there is a 
short period of Dutch-English rivalry, from 1649 t0 ^74, fol- 
lowed by a much longer period of French-English strife. In 
explaining the subjects, the two series of incidents must never 
be separated in thought, although for practical purposes in 
organizing the work they may be treated separately. 

With the approach of the Revolution of 1688, the student is 
taken out into the larger field of European politics. The over- 
throw of James II. was in a sense a move in the game against 
Louis XIV. It was one campaign of the War of the League of 
Augsburg. The War of the Spanish Succession was one of its 
natural, although remote, results. Then came an era of peace, 
only to be disturbed again when colonial jealousies became 
greater and the War of the Austrian Succession furnished an 
opportunity for the old antagonism to break forth into action. 
With the Seven Years War came the end of this phase of the 
contest and the proper close of an epoch. All these wars had 
their echoes in America, where they traditionally have been 
disguised under different names, King William's, Queen Anne's, 
King George's, and the French and Indian wars. 

Topics, following in general the chronological order: the Com- 
monwealth, Navigation Act of 165 1, and the first Dutch war ; Vir- 
ginia and the Commonwealth ; the Protectorate and Cromwell's 
personal rule, reasons why he failed to establish a permanent 
government, his foreign policy; the Restoration, persecution 
of the Non-conformists. 

Corporation, Conventicle, and Five Mile Acts; Massachu- 
setts Declaration of Rights ; complaints against Massachusetts 



THE FOUNDING OF AMERICA 301 

and the Commission of 1664. Navigation Acts of 1660, etc., 
second Dutch war, conquest of the Dutch possessions ; begin- 
nings of New Jersey ; William Penn and Pennsylvania ; found- 
ing of the Carolinas. 

Charles schemes to restore Catholicism in England, his rela- 
tions to Louis XIV. and the treaty of Dover, Declaration of 
Indulgence and its recall, Test Act, withdrawal from the Dutch 
war, French intrigues and the fall of Danby, beginnings of 
political parties. 

The Popish Plot, the failure of the Exclusion Bill, Habeas 
Corpus Act, gain of the king in popularity. 

Virginia's governors under the Restoration and Bacon's Rebel- 
lion ; renewed attack on the Massachusetts charter, a part of a 
general scheme to substitute royal for charter government, with 
attacks on charters of Rhode Island, Connecticut, and Mary- 
land, " Stuart Tyranny " in New England under Sir Edmund 
Andros, also governor of New York. 

James II., Monmouth's rebellion and the " Bloody Assizes," 
attempts to restore Catholicism, attack on the Universities, 
second Declaration of Indulgence and the trial of the Seven 
Bishops, succession to the crown, relation of the coming of 
William to the struggle between the Dutch and Louis XIV. 

The Bill of Rights and the Toleration Act ; William accepts 
the crown of Scotland. 

The " Glorious Revolution " in America ; the Provincial Char- 
ter for Massachusetts ; treatment of the proprietors of Maryland 
and Pennsylvania. 1 

The European war which broke out in 1688 will be better 
understood, particularly its consequences in the colonies, if 
there is first a study of France and the character and devel- 
opment of New France in Canada. 

The pupils should understand the nature of the government 
which had been created in France by the successes of Riche- 
lieu and Mazarin, followed by the ambitious designs A b SOlute 
of Louis XIV. They should also see how this led Monarchy 
to a greater vigour in furthering colonial enterprise 
and to the adoption of the paternal theory of management for 
the affairs of the colonies. After this work is done, they will 

1 For documents and contemporary literature see collections of sources 
mentioned in Bibliography. 



302 THE FOUNDING OF AMERICA 

be able to comprehend the course of the struggle which was to 
last three quarters of a century, and which was to end disas- 
trously for France. 

The principal points are : the position of France at the end of 
the Thirty Years War, and her gains from Spain at the Peace of 
the Pyrenees ; personal government of Louis XIV., Revocation 
of the Edict of Nantes, invasion of Holland ; Colbert, founding 
of the East India Company and the Company of the West, 
paternalism in New France, work of the intendant, explorations 
of Joliet, Marquette, and La Salle, Count Frontenac. 1 

The War of the League of Augsburg is important principally 
because it was the first serious check to the designs of Louis XIV., 
and, in the colonies, because of the terrible use made by the 
French of their Indian auxiliaries. 

War of the League of Augsburg ( King William's War) : 
French troops ravage the Palatinate ; battle of the Boyne ; in 
America, attacks on Schenectady, Haverhill, and other towns, 
Sir William Phips takes Port Royal ; Peace of Ryswick a little 
later ; the French strengthen their position by occupying the 
mouth of the Mississippi. 

The history of the West Indies is closely connected with 
that of the English and the French possessions in America. 

m „ M The interest which Americans must henceforth feel 
West Indies. . . . ,,..'» . , , 

in these islands is an additional reason for includ- 
ing some account of them in this course of study. The Eng- 
lish, French, and Dutch in the seventeenth century were more 
than ever inclined to set at defiance their exclusion from these 
waters by the Spaniards. The stirring adventures of the pirates 
and buccaneers make up the first phase. Soon the govern- 
ments were forced to take a hand in the struggle, and out of 
it all came such prosperous colonies as Jamaica, Barbados, 
Martinique, and Guadeloupe. It is instructive to compare the 
governmental experience of the English colonies in the islands 



1 Winsor, Mississippi Valley. 



THE FOUNDING OF AMERICA 303 

with that of those on the continent of America. The Naviga- 
tion laws were almost equally odious to both. 1 

Aside from the wars in Europe which brought on wars in 
America, the history of the colonies during the first part of the 
eighteenth century is uneventful. The attempt to Eighteenth 
control the trade of the colonies and to direct Ceiltur y- 
their industrial life was arousing a feeling of irritation, not to say 
antagonism, which was to have important consequences later. 
These laws found their justification in the theory of the Co- 
lonial Pact. The mother country would protect the colony, 
and in some cases she would make concessions in favour of 
its natural productions, but, in general, she held that it existed- 
for her benefit and must be allowed to do nothing which em- 
barrassed her industries. During this period, also, the political 
experience of the colonists was enriched by the contests with 
the royal governors. 

The internal history of England seems uneventful, although 
the system of government by prime minister and cabinet 
responsible to the House of Commons was gradually being 
created through one obscure precedent after another. But 
there never was a period when England gained more by war 
than during these same years. The great duel with France, 
which has been termed a new Hundred Years War, had begun 
in 1688 and was to last until 1815. 

Eve?its in England: Act of Settlement ; Union of England 
and Scotland ; quarrel about the Spanish succession, Louis XIV. 
recognises the Old Pretender as king of England, the Grand 
Alliance, battle of Blenheim ; in America, second capture of 
Port Royal, massacres on the frontier, further defeats of the 
French by Marlborough, territorial changes in Europe and 
America at the Peace of Utrecht. 

Founding of New Orleans, gradual occupation of Mississippi 
valley by the French. 

The Carolinas under royal governors ; founding of Georgia. 

England, 1 714-1744: the House of Hanover, the Old Pre- 

1 Payne, European Colonies, pp. 65-79; Egerton, Short History of 
British Colonial Policy. 



304 THE FOUNDING OF AMERICA 

tender, the South Sea Bubble, Walpole governs as prime 
minister, his attitude towards the House of Commons, war of 
Jenkins's Ear, fall of Walpole. 

America : illustrations of attempts to legislate against indus- 
tries ; attempts to enforce the Navigation Acts. 

In 1 744 war broke out again, called the War of the Austrian 
Succession, or King George's War; and the struggle was practi- 
Renewed cally continuous until the Peace of Paris at the end 
Wars * of the Seven Years War, for even though fighting 

ceased in Europe and America, it went on in India, under cover 
of assisting the native princes. 

The Principal Topics are: the new kingdom of Prussia, 
quarrel of Frederick the Great and Maria Theresa over Silesia, 
England becomes the ally of the Austrians and France of 
Frederick, the Young Pretender in Scotland ; Dupleix captures 
Madras ; the New Englanders take Louisburg ; restoration of 
Madras and Louisburg at the close of the war. 

Extension of French power in southern India under Dupleix, 
the French take formal possession of the Ohio valley, Clive 
captures Arcot (1751), the French build Presque Isle at Erie 
(1752), building of Fort Duquesne. 

Washington at Fort Necessity, Albany congress ; beginning 
of the war, Braddock's defeat, opening of the Seven Years War 
in Europe, with England on the side of Frederick and France 
in league with Austria, early defeats and successes of Frederick, 
Rossbach ; battle of Plassey in India ; fall of Quebec ; Peace 
of Paris ; the " three provinces " and the Indian country. 

The characteristics of life in the colonies should be studied 
as a distinct subject, although facts of this sort should be 
used all the way through to give colour to the story of political 
development. 

With the downfall of the French colonies in America its 
history becomes less international. Only Spain maintains a 
Shifting of feeble rivalry to England in the control of American 
Interest. territory, and Spain's power is pushed back from 

the Atlantic coast to the region west of the Mississippi. From 
1763, therefore, the interest is shifted, and the course becomes 



THE FOUNDING OF AMERICA 305 

more distinctly American history, although sight should not be 
lost of the political history of England, nor of the later relations 
of France and Spain to American history. 

The political and constitutional struggle that led to the revolt 
of the colonies is difficult to make plain, because it was not a 
simple tale of oppression, as popular tradition so Causesofth e 
often represents it, but, in part at least, a conflict Revolution, 
between different theories of government. Americans are in 
much the same situation as are French republicans in regard 
to the French Revolution; they have been inclined to em- 
phasize the grievances from which they suffered in order to 
seem loyal to the result. Fortunately the later writers on 
American history, both Americans and Englishmen, are in- 
clined to look upon the controversy more dispassionately. 

The English colonial policy cannot be understood if it is con- 
sidered separately, for it was simply one example of the com- 
mon attitude of the colonial powers of the eighteenth century 
toward their possessions beyond the seas, except that England 
was more liberal than the others. France had not merely laid 
similar trade restrictions upon Canada, she had governed 
autocratically ; and this she did naturally because her own home 
government was in theory autocratic. And Spain carried this 
policy still further, excluding even colonists of pure Spanish 
descent from all share in colonial appointments. Whatever 
faults England may have committed, they were light in com- 
parison with the acts of the other nations. 

From the point of view of the old colonial policy, the acts of 
the British Parliament were not oppressive. This fact explains 
why Parliament was so warmly supported by English public 
sentiment until the nature of feeling in America came to be 
better understood. But the old colonial policy is now dis- 
credited and the British colonial empire has been preserved 
because that policy was abandoned by the middle of the nine- 
teenth century. The position the Americans occupied was 
sound, not because it was altogether justifiable by legal prece- 
dents, but because it was the ground upon which all were to 



306 THE FOUNDING OF AMERICA 

stand within a century. The situation may be explained by 
comparing it to the controversy between Charles and Parlia- 
ment. There could not be two supreme powers in England. 
Either Charles must abandon his notion of royal prerogative, 
a notion more or less justified by the history of the Tudor 
monarchy, or Parliament must be in danger of losing the posi- 
tion it had reached, to say nothing of extending its control 
over matters which deeply concerned such a body. So in 
1765 Parliament must either govern the colonies according 
to the customary theory of the relation of colonies to the state, 
or it must confess that a rival power had supplanted it. No 
one then dreamed of the solution of the problem worked out 
in the case of Canada and Australia by the concession of 
responsible government. Furthermore, the whole matter was 
complicated by a scheme of George III. to apply to the 
colonies his notions of government in general, so that the cause 
of the Americans seemed to many enlightened men in England 
the cause also of English liberty. 

These considerations should lead the teacher to manage so 
complex and delicate a subject with special care after he has 
himself become master of its intricacies. Phases of it are too 
legal to be appreciated by high school pupils,, but the funda- 
mental question can be understood, namely, whether English- 
men who had become accustomed for over a century to a 
large measure of self-government, and whose notions of liberty 
had been inherited from the stormy times of the conflict with 
Charles, were to see this privilege pass little by little from them 
into the hands of a body sitting three thousand miles away, 
deciding matters according to the suggestions of the new im- 
perialism when it did not decide them on more selfish grounds. 

Before the study of the subject is taken up, there should be 
a brief study of George III. and his notions of royal preroga- 
tive, his plans to obtain control, and the attitude of the English 
party leaders on this question. 

It is well to divide the grievances between those of long 
standing, connected with England's trade and colonial system, 



THE FOUNDING OF AMERICA 307 

and those which were new and part of which grew out of the 
quarrel itself. 

Topics : review the Navigation Acts and the attempts to en- 
force them, the "Molasses Act" of 1733, writs of assistance. 
Grenville's policy in regard to sugar and molasses, and his 
attempt to enforce the revenue laws. 

The Stamp Act, English theory of representation. American 
theory of representation ; effect on the situation by the change 
in the political situation in England (Rockingham ministry). 
The Declaratory Act. 

Compare this Declaratory Act with the attitude of the Ameri- 
can Congress toward the right to tax Porto Rico. 

Townsend Acts, which attempt to levy duties on certain 
imports instead of laying internal taxes, which also attempt to 
free the governors from control by colonial assemblies by pro- 
viding for the payment of salaries out of proceeds, and to ren- 
der the whole effective, reorganize revenue service, and take 
cases out of the ordinary courts ; danger of these measures. 

Virginia Resolves of 1 769 ; Non-Importation Agreements. 

Boston Massacre ; partial repeal of the Townsend Acts ; 
Boston Tea Party ; punishment of Massachusetts ; gradual 
organization of the Americans through Committees of Corre- 
spondence ; provisional assemblies where the government dis- 
solved the colonial assemblies. 

First Continental Congress ; effect of the Quebec Act on the 
situation ; its real object. 

The Revolutionary War is a subject of such absorbing inter- 
est that it may easily be dealt with in detail. There is reason 
why this should be done, for it is the heroic period American 
of the Republic, although really not more heroic Revolution - 
than the political struggle which preceded the clash of arms. 
Like all such conflicts, it will be better understood if an 
attempt is made to group its incidents into a few phases and 
not lay an equal emphasis on all battles. 

Beginnings : Lexington and Concord ; the attitude taken by 
the several colonies, difficulties which confronted Washington 
in organizing the army, reasons for the failure of the French 
in Canada to welcome the opportunity to throw off British 
control, siege of Boston, New York becomes the centre of 



308 THE FOUNDING OF AMERICA 

operations, difficulty of Congress in providing for defence, 
movement for independence, theories set forth in the Declara- 
tion of Independence. 

War in the north (i 776-1 778) : from the time when Wash- 
ington is forced to retreat from Brooklyn Heights, and later 
across the Jerseys until his return to the Hudson River valley 
in 1778: battle of Long Island, Washington crosses to New 
York, disaster and retreat, restoration of situation by Trenton 
and Princeton, battles around Philadelphia, invasion of Bur- 
goyne, capture of his army, the Conway Cabal, effect of the 
surrender of Burgoyne upon France, the work of Franklin ■ 
England declares war on France, relation of this to the " Hun- 
dred Years War," retreat of the British to New York. 

War in the south : with incidental fighting in the north, 
1 780-1 78 1 : previous successes and failures of the British in 
the south, situation there in 1780 ; treason of Arnold ; destruc- 
tion of Gates's army, decisive minor actions, King's Mountain 
and Cowpens, Guilford Court House, Cornwallis moves into 
Virginia, Yorktown campaign, Greene's later campaign in 
South Carolina. 

List of dates : — 

1 41 9. Prince Henry the Navigator begins his work at 

Sagres. 
i486. Diaz discovers the Cape of Good Hope. 
1492. Columbus discovers the West Indies. 
1498. Da Gama reaches the coast of India. 
1522. Magellan's sailors complete the circumnavigation of 

the globe. 
1558. Accession of Queen Elizabeth. 
1572. Massacre of St. Bartholomew. 
1588. The defeat of the Invincible Armada. 
1598. The Edict of Nantes. 
1607. Jamestown founded. 
1620. Plymouth founded. 
1628. The Petition of Right; Massachusetts Bay colony 

founded. 
1642. Civil War in England. 

1648. Peace of Westphalia. 

1649. Charles I. executed. 
1660. Restoration in England. 

1685. Revocation of the Edict of Nantes. 
1688. The " Glorious Revolution" : beginning of the War 
of the League of Augsburg, King William's War. 



THE FOUNDING OF AMERICA 



309 



I7I3- 

1754- 



1765- 
1775- 

1776. 
1778. 

1 78 1. 
1783. 



Treaty of Utrecht reconstructs map of Europe. 
Fighting begins in the Virginia woods which brings 

on the Seven Years War and leads to the ruin of 

the French colonial empire. 
Stamp Act. 
Battle of Lexington. 
Declaration of Independence. 
The French become the allies of the American 

colonists. 
Yorktown campaign. 
Peace acknowledging independence of United States. 



CHAPTER XVII 

EUROPEAN HISTORY SINCE 1560 

BIBLIOGRAPHY. 

Collected Sources : — 

Translations and Reprints of the University of Pennsylvania. Vol. 
VI. No. i, French Philosophers of the Eighteenth Century; Vol. IV. 
No. 5, Typical Cahiers of 1789 ; Vol. I. No. 5, The French Revolu- 
tion ; Vol. II. No. 2, The Napoleonic Period; Vol. I. No. 3, The Resto- 
ration and the European Policy of Metternich (1814-1820). Also Vol. 
V. No. 2, Protest of the Cour des Aides of Paris, April 10, 1775. 
Memoirs : — 

Bismarck, Otto von. The Man and the Statesman. 2 vols. London, 
Smith & Elder. New York, Harper & Bros. 

Bourrienne, L. Antoine Fauvelet de. Memoirs of Napoleon. 4 vols. 
Charles Scribner's Sons. 

Cavour, Count. Letters edited by Count Nigra. London, Cassell 
& Co. 

Garibaldi, Guiseppe. Autobiography. 3 vols. 

Metternich, Prince. Memoirs. 5 vols. London, R. Bentley & Son. 
New York, Charles Scribner's Sons. 

Morris, Gouverneur. Diary and Letters. 2 vols. New York, 
Charles Scribner's Sons. London, Kegan Paul & Co. 

Pasquier, Chancellor. 3 vols. London, T. F. Unwin. New York, 
Charles Scribner's Sons. 

Talleyrand, Prince de. Memoirs of. London, R. Bentley & Son 
New York, G. P. Putnam's Sons. 

"Whitman, Sidney. Conversations with Bismarck, collected by Hein- 
rich von Poschinger. New York and London, Harper & Bros. 

Young, Arthur. Travels in France, 1 787-1788 and 1789. London, 
G. Bell & Son. New York, The Macmillan Co. 

Old Regime and Revohdion : — 

Carlyle, Thomas. The French Revolution. Many editions. 

Fyffe, C. A. History of Modern Europe. London, Cassell & Co. 
New York, Henry Holt & Co. Also in 3 vols. 

Gardiner, Mrs. S. R. The French Revolution (1789-1795). London 
and New York, Longmans, Green & Co. 

Lowell, E. J. Eve of the French Revolution. Boston, Houghton, 
Mifflin & Co. 



EUROPEAN HISTORY SINCE 1560 311 

Mahan, A. T. Influence of the Sea Power upon the French Revolu- 
tion and Empire. 2 vols. Boston, Little, Brown & Co. London, 
S. Low & Co. Also Life of Nelson, the Embodiment of the Sea 
Power of Great Britain. 2 vols. 

Mignet, F. A. The French Revolution. London, G. Bell & Son. 
New York, The Macmillan Co. 

Morris, W. O'Connor. The French Revolution. New York, 
Charles Scribner's Sons. 

Rose, J. H. The Revolutionary and Napoleonic Era. Cambridge, 
University Press. New York, The Macmillan Co. Also, A Century of 
Continental History. London, E. Stanford. 

Hose, J. H. The Life of Napoleon I. 2 vols. New York, The 
Macmillan Co. 

Seeley, J. R. Life of Stein. 3 vols. Boston, Little, Brown & Co. 
Also Napoleon. 

Sloane, W. M. Life of Napoleon. 4 vols. New York, The Century 
Co. London, Macmillan & Co. 

Stephens, H. M. The French Revolution (through 1793). 2 vols. 
London, Longmans, Green & Co. New York, Charles Scribner's Sons. 
Also, Revolutionary Europe from 1789 to 181 5. London, Rivingtons. 
New York, The Macmillan Co. 

Taine, H. A. The Ancient Regime. The French Revolution. The 
Modern Regime. 6 vols. London, S. Low & Co. New York, Henry 
Holt & Co. 

Thiers, L. A. The French Revolution. 5 vols. The Consulate and 
the Empire. 12 vols. London, J. Murray. 

Tocqueville, A. de. The Ancient Regime and the Revolution. 

Von Hoist, H. The French Revolution. 2 vols. Chicago, Callaghan 
& Co. London, Kegan Paul & Co. 

From 1815 : — 

Lowell, A. L. Governments and Parties in Continental Europe. 
2 vols. Boston, Houghton, Mifflin & Co. 

Miiller, W. Political History of Recent Times. New York, Ameri- 
can Book Co. 

Sears, E. H. Political Growth in the Nineteenth Century. New 
York, The Macmillan Co. 

Seignobos, Charles. Political History of Europe since 1814. New 
York, Henry Holt & Co. 

England: — 

McCarthy, Justin. History of Our Own Times. 2 vols. London, 
Chatto & Windus. New York, Harper & Bros. 

May, Erskine. Constitutional History of England. 3 vols. London 
and New York, Longmans, Green & Co. 

Walpole, Spencer. History of England since 181 5. 6 vols. London 
and New York, Longmans, Green & Co. 



312 EUROPEAN HISTORY SINCE 1560 

France : — 
Coubertin, P. de. France since 1814. New York, Macmillan Co. 

Germany : — 

Malleson, G. B. The Refounding of the German Empire. London, 
Seeley & Co. New York, Charles Scribner's Sons. 

Sybel, H. von. The Founding of the German Empire. 7 vols. 
New York, T. Y. Crowell. 
Italy : — 

Cesaresco, the Countess. The Liberation of Italy. London, Seeley 
& Co. New York, Charles Scribner's Sons. 

Probyn, J. W. Italy (181 5-1890). London, Cassell & Co. 

Stillman, W. J. The Union of Italy. New York, The Macmillan Co. 

For works covering the last period as well as this, see previous lists. 
See also maps already mentioned. 

Guides : — 

Syllabus of Lectures on Modern European History, by H. Morse 
Stephens. New York, Macmillan. 

A Syllabus of Lectures on the Political History since 18 15, by C. H. 
Levermore and D. R. Dewey. Boston. 

Outlines and References for European History in the Nineteenth 
Century, by W. M. West. Minneapolis, 1896. 

The treatment of Mediaeval History in Chapter XV. closed 
with the preliminary settlements of the religious question ef- 
Arrangement fected about the year 1560. In the following 
of Material, chapter the succeeding incidents of European his- 
tory, as far as the end of the American Revolution, were 
grouped with American colonial history. If the school pro- 
gramme provides for a course in general history managed 
according to the customary method, it will be necessary to 
give the material an arrangement somewhat different, and place 
the emphasis upon the development of the European system 
rather than upon the founding of America. It will be the aim 
of this chapter to suggest such a rearrangement, and afterwards 
to explain how the period from the end of the American Revo- 
lution may be treated. 

The first change will affect the fifteenth chapter. Since the 
discoveries are not to form the opening incident of a new 
period of modern history, they may be studied as one of the 
most important events of the Renaissance. 



EUROPEAN HISTORY SINCE 1560 313 

The colonies cannot be ignored in this alternate scheme. 
They must now be considered as evidences of power and en- 
terprise on the part of the nations that founded and controlled 
them, rather than as that expression of a nation's influence 
chiefly to be kept in view. They should be treated incident- 
ally to the progress of European history itself. 

The possession of sea-power was an important element in the 
founding of colonies ; it was almost equally important in deter- 
mining the relative strength of European nations, especially after 
commerce became a source of national wealth. This may be 
open to question in the case of several events of the eighteenth 
and nineteenth centuries, — notably the seizure of Silesia by 
Frederick the Great, the Austro-Prussian War of 1866, and the 
Franco-Prussian War of 1870-1871, — and yet it is justifiable, 
considering the influence exerted by England during the first 
fifty or sixty years of the nineteenth century. 

If the year 1560 be taken as the starting-point, the chief 
interest for the remainder of the sixteenth century centres in 
the further attempts to reach a settlement of the j^m I s 60 - 
religious question, and to determine just where I600, 
the frontiers of Protestantism were finally to be laid down. 
England gradually becomes the bulwark of the Reformation 
through the successful carrying out of Elizabeth's policy, while 
Philip of Spain, commanding the resources of America and 
supported by his famous army, strove to beat back the Protest- 
ants in the revolted Netherlands and in France. With the final 
sessions of the Council of Trent, in 1563, a beginning was made 
of the reorganization of the Catholic church. Henceforth the 
conservatives could say that there had been a "reformation in 
head and members," and that the schismatic Protestants were 
without excuse if they did not return to the fold. 1 The Jesuit 
Order had already been created, and a formidable army of mis- 
sionaries was winning back to the church, foot by foot, the 



1 At the time of the Reforming Councils, in the fifteenth century, 
there had been constant agitation for what was called a " Reformation 
in head and members," that is, at Rome and throughout the church. 



314 EUROPEAN HISTORY SINCE 1560 

strategic ground of South Germany. France was torn by the 
religious wars, which were to continue almost uninterruptedly 
until the publication of the Edict of Nantes in 1598. In this 
treatment of the subject, as well as in that of Chapter XVI., 
the defeat of the Invincible Armada is the turning-point in the 
struggle. That disaster saved England ; it also marked the 
limits beyond which the reaction could not go. 

In the seventeenth century the development of the Bourbon 
monarchy in France, and the ruin of Germany by the Thirty 
Seventeenth Years War, should receive relatively greater atten- 
Century. t j on t | ian j n Chapter XVI., although even in a 
course on strictly general history it is impossible to neglect the 
fact that the American child is likely to be more interested in 
English history than in either French or German history, be- 
cause the events of the seventeenth century in England are so 
closely interwoven with our own colonial history. 

A comprehension of what is meant by absolute monarchy 
under Louis XIV. is necessary to an understanding of the later 
Absolute incidents in French history that led up to the 
Monarchy. Revolution. 1 The teacher should remember that 
the principal dangers from absolutism were in the political 
paralysis that came over the whole country because so much 
of what was purely local business had to be referred for settle- 
ment to the royal councils. Commonly speaking, absolutism 
was not dangerous to the liberty of the average man. It must 
be remembered that whatever be the theory of government, 
details must be managed according to precedent and with a 
regard for traditional rights and vested interests. There were 
certain established principles of administration to which the 
king himself must be subservient unless he would destroy his 
country instead of governing it. The phrase " I am the state " 
was simply a theory as to the ultimate source of authority, and 
in this respect corresponded to the phrase " the sovereign 
people." It was one thing to be sovereign and quite another 



1 Kitchin, France, III. 146 ff. 



EUROPEAN HISTORY SINCE 1560 315 

to make that sovereignty effective. Democracies are beginning 
to realize this. 

Another feature of French history which should be empha- 
sized, particularly from the Peace of Westphalia, is the gradual 
building up of the northern and eastern frontier. Frontier of 
This throws light upon the modern geography of France. 
Europe, and explains some of the questions which still agitate 
European politics. With Westphalia came the full cession of 
Toul and Verdun, and also of Metz, the city France was to 
lose in 187 1. Alsace came too, another possession the loss of 
which France bitterly mourns. In 1659 Spain was obliged to 
cede a strip of territory in the Netherlands, to add to these 
cessions in 1668, and in 1678 to surrender the Free County of 
Burgundy. This Free County, or Franche Comte, was the last 
permanent gain of France on the east until Savoy and Nice 
came as a result of bargain with Victor Emmanuel in i860. 
Such cessions cannot be studied in much detail, but enough 
should be said about them for the pupil to gain an intelli- 
gent comprehension of the means by which France reached its 
present limits, or those which it had until 187 1. 

Louis XIV's foreign policy should be explained in an ele- 
mentary way, because it made France, instead of Spain, the 
object of fear, and the nation against which great Foreign Policy 
alliances were directed. The situation was similar of France, 
to that necessitated by Napoleon's even more aggressive policy. 
It is strange to find Holland and Spain fighting side by side, 
supported by England, against the power which earlier in the 
century, under Richelieu, had interfered to prevent Spain from 
effectively taking part in the Thirty Years War against Holland 
and the German Protestants. 1 

With the opening of the eighteenth century came changes in 
European geography full of future interest. The struggle about 
the Spanish part of Charles V's great inheritance resulted in 
the transfer to Austria of the Netherlands, and also of Naples 

1 This period is discussed from the English point of view in Seeley's 
Growth of British Foreign Policy, 2 vols., Cambridge University Press. 



316 EUROPEAN HISTORY SINCE 1560 

and Sardinia. A little later the Duke of Savoy, who had re- 
ceived Sicily as his share of the spoils, exchanged it for Sar- 
Territorial dinia, and was allowed to assume the title King of 
Changes. Sardinia. This fact is important because of its 

relation to the unification of Italy in the nineteenth century. 
Another monarchy also began its career during the struggle 
over the Spanish inheritance. This was Prussia. In order 
to make Prussia's position clear, the teacher should explain the 
sources of the territorial power of the Elector of Brandenburg 
and the origin of the connection with Prussia. 

Until after the Peace of Paris the interest must be fixed upon 
the rise of Prussia and the conflict with Austria over Silesia, 
and upon the struggle between France and England which 
receives the principal emphasis in the other management of 
the subject. 

As soon as these causes of strife are described attention turns 
to the character of the old regime in Europe, which was to 
Causes of tlie ma ke the French Revolution an upheaval of Con- 
Revolution, tinental proportions. This study centres upon the 
conditions in France, although the state of English and Ger- 
man society should also be understood. It is necessary, fur- 
ther, to see how England's progress in manufactures and in 
agriculture was preparing her to endure the shock of the con- 
flict with France from 1793 until 18 15. 

Topical summary of the Old Regime : — 

England: improvements in methods of agriculture, Enclos- 
ure Acts, effect of these upon small proprietors, effect upon 
England's ability to furnish her own food ; inventions of Kay, 
Hargreaves, Arkwright, and others, result in transformation of 
industry, effect upon England's industrial strength in compari- 
son with that of rival states, growth of cities ; parliamentary 
government after the fall of Lord North, the character of the 
representation, career of the younger Pitt, commercial treaty 
with France ; foundation of penal colony in Australia. 1 



1 Cunningham's Growth of British Industry and Commerce; Modern 
Times, Toynbee's The Industrial Revolution, Jenks' Australasias. 



EUROPEAN HISTORY SINCE 1560 317 

France : condition of the peasantry, nature of their burdens 
from the remaining incidents of the feudal system and from the 
inequalities in taxation ; the taille and the method of collecting 
it, the vingtiemes, the indirect taxes, the " Farm," inequalities 
in the gabelle ; the nobility, their privileges and exemptions, 
absenteeism ; the clergy, their contribution to the revenue, in 
comparison with their income, their control of the schools, of 
the civil status of the individual • the finances, the debt, rela- 
tion of the American Revolution to this debt, financial expe- 
dients in meeting obligations ; the philosophers and their attack 
upon the abuses of the old regime, Rousseau and his doctrine 
of popular sovereignty in the Contrat Social (1762). 1 

Germany : serfdom in Prussia and other German states, divi- 
sion of Prussian society into classes ; the bureaucracy • the 
army and its organization. 

In dealing with the French Revolution the teacher must 
guard against the shallow view that it was a succession of dread- 
ful riots culminating in a horrible orgy called the French 
Reign of Terror. Naturally scenes like those of Re ™ lution - 
July 12-14, October 5-6, August 10, and 9 Thermidor, fill the 
imagination and crowd out the solid work of the Revolution. 
This is especially true in the case of children in the elementary 
schools who are scarcely old enough to understand the changes 
in the structure of society and the principles of government 
wrought by the Revolution. It should be possible to give the 
impression that although much was destroyed, nevertheless the 
Revolution was rather a hastening of processes begun long 
before than a decisive break with the past. To accomplish 
this emphasis there should be an elementary treatment of social 
changes and of the new administrative system. Scenes of riot 
cannot be ignored, but they should be treated as incidents of 
the change and not as revealing its true character. This does 
not mean that the teacher should explain away the injustices 
and the atrocities of the Revolution or should seek to excuse 
the Terrorists, it means that as the Revolution brought about 



1 Lowell's Eve of the FrencJi Revolution contains the clearest discus- 
sion of these topics. For selections from the French philosophers see 
Penn. Tr. and Rj>., VI. No. 1. 



318 EUROPEAN HISTORY SINCE 1560 

those changes in French society which gave it its present char- 
acter and laid the foundations of its permanent administrative 
organization, this is the fact that should stand in the foreground. 
A study of the European situation immediately before the 
Revolution and in 1792 shows that this acted as a vortex, irre- 
sistibly drawing all European nations within its sweep. 

The Revohitio7i (1789-1795). 

Beginnings : vain efforts of Turgot at reform, condition of 
the finances in 1786, failure of the Notables and of Parlement 
to bring relief, purpose for which the Estates General were sum- 
moned; conflict in the Estates General over the question of 
voting, the Third Estate defies the king, and gains control ; 
court scheme of coercion and its results in Paris, establishment 
of new city governments in Paris and elsewhere, organization of 
the National Guard ; war on the chateaux and the attempt of 
the new National Assembly to abolish feudalism, distrust of the 
king leads to his being brought to Paris, practically a prisoner. 1 

Constitution : new administrative divisions for the country, 
Civil Constitution of the clergy, nationalization of church 
property, new theory of the monarchy, relation of the monarch 
to the assembly, position of the ministry; experiment with a 
paper currency secured on land. 2 

Political struggle : effect of the pope's disapproval of the Civil 
Constitution upon the king's conscience, flight to Varennes, 
new efforts at compromise and the acceptance of the constitu- 
tion by the king ; conflict between the king and the Legisla- 
tive Assembly over the question of the non-juring clergy, the 
king forced into war with Austria and Prussia; June 20; the 
king believed to be in conspiracy with the enemy, Brunswick's 

1 The evils of the old regime are clearly stated in the Protest of the 
Cour des Aides, Perm. Tr. and Rp., V. No. 2, selections from Typical 
Cahiers in Penn. Tr. and Rp., IV. No. 5. This early period is well 
described by Von Hoist. Taine's account must be accepted with reserve. 
The decree abolishing feudalism in Penn. Tr. and Rp., I. No. 5, pp. 2-6, 
was not the final action. The teacher should look the matter up in a 
special work. The Declaration of the Rights of Man and of the Citizen 
is in Penn. Tr. and Rp., I. No. 5. There is also in the same number an 
interesting memoir drawn up by Mirabeau and bearing on the state of 
affairs after the king was taken to Paris. 

2 Selections from the Civil Constitution in Penn. Tr. and Rp., I. No. 5. 
For paper money see A. D. White, Paper Money Inflation in France. 



EUROPEAN HISTORY SINCE 1560 319 

manifesto, August 10, the victory of the radicals and the con- 
tinued advance of the allies brings on the prison massacres in 
September; the Prussians checked at Valmy, meeting of the 
Convention and proclamation of the Republic. 

The Revolution and Europe: temporary victories lead to 
war of expansion and political upheaval, beginnings of strife in 
the Convention, trial and death of the king, France without 
friends, civil war in La Vendee ; attempt through appointment 
of a Committee of Public Safety to infuse vigour into the admin- 
istration, the Girondists driven from the Convention, the civil 
war becomes more general ; moderate men lose control of the 
Committee, opposition in the Convention silenced, gradual for- 
mation of the Great Committee, rise of Robespierre to supreme 
influence ; the law of Suspects and the Revolutionary army 
bring on the Reign of Terror, the ultras attack the church and 
attempt to establish the Worship of Reason, both ultras and 
moderates destroyed by the Committee of Public Safety under 
the influence of Robespierre, Billaud, and Collot ; Robespierre's 
brief triumph, the worship of the Supreme Being, 22 Prairial, 
attempt of Robespierre to destroy some of the Terrorists leads 
to his own overthrow ; the victories of France on all frontiers 
remove the fear of invasion and encourage the moderates to 
reassert themselves, the Thermidorian reaction, the new consti- 
tution, and the treaties with Prussia and Spain ; second and 
third partitions of Poland. 1 

The next period, in which Napoleon plays the most promi- 
nent part, led to several changes in the geography of Europe, 
and especially of Germany. These are the most Napoleonic 
important of the permanent results of Napoleonic Period, 
rule, save in France, where the system of law and of adminis- 
tration confirmed and completed the work of the Revolution. 
It should also be noted that with the establishment of French 
influence throughout Europe after the Austerlitz or the Fried- 
land campaign the French social system with its principles of 
law became so firmly rooted that it was not swept away in 
the subsequent ruin of the Empire. The relations of the United 
States to this struggle were very close, for the United States 



1 Good map of the three partitions of Poland, Rose, Revohitionary 
and Napoleonic Era, 76. 



320 EUROPEAN HISTORY SINCE 1560 

was practically the only neutral, and so was in a position to 
gather immense profits from the misfortunes of the contestants 
United states unless they did violence to the rights of neutrals 
involved. an( ^ j^ ar bjtrary restrictions upon American com- 
merce. This happened, and brought on the second war be- 
tween England and the United States. Such a situation should 
not be studied wholly from the American point of view. England 
could hardly be expected to watch with pleasure the desertion 
of her seamen, their speedy naturalization as American citizens, 
and the loss of her commerce through the efforts of a sturdy 
young rival unhampered by heavy insurance rates. If fear 
prompted her to strike out with insolent rage, and in so doing 
bring upon herself still greater losses and an irritating though 
not dangerous war, this should not blind Americans to the real 
difficulties of the situation. 

Rise of Napoleon : Toulon, 13th Vendemiaire, characteristics 
of the campaign of '96, with its results in the Peace of To- 
lentino and the Peace of Campo Formio ; the Egyptian expe- 
dition, ruined by Nelson's victory of the Nile ; dissatisfaction 
with the constitution gives Napoleon his opportunity to over- 
throw the government on the 18th Brumaire, strengthening of 
the executive, use Napoleon made of his power in re-establish- 
ing a state church through the Concordat, in reforming the 
French law; the results of Marengo and Luneville in giving 
France the Rhine frontier and in compensating Prussia with 
the territory of the bishoprics, general secularization of the 
church territories and mediatization of the petty princes ; Na- 
poleon's brief experiment with colonization in San Domingo 
and Louisiana, sale of Louisiana to Jefferson. 1 

The Empire : outbreak of war with England, Trafalgar and 
Austerlitz campaigns, the Peace of Pressburg leads to the estab- 
lishment of the Rhenish Confederation with Bavaria and Wur- 
temburg as kingdoms and Baden as a Grand Duchy ; dissolution 
of the Holy Roman Empire ; Prussia crushed, Russia defeated 
makes peace at Tilsit, creation of Grand Duchy of Warsaw, 



1 Full explanation in Henry Adams, History of the United States, 
I. 335 ff., II. 1 ff. Selection from Memoirs of Miot de Melito on Na- 
poleon's plans in 1 796-1 797, in Penn. Tr. and Rp., II. No. 2. Also 
treaties of Campo Formio and Luneville. 



EUROPEAN HISTORY SINCE 1560 32 1 

Saxony becomes a kingdom ; the Continental System, note the 
fact that this was not the invention of Napoleon although he 
extended its application, partial responsibility of England for 
such measures, effect of the system upon the growth of manu- 
factures on the Continent, effect upon the maritime towns, its 
bearing upon Napoleon's later wars. 1 

Fall of Napoleon : seizure of the Spanish throne, uprising of 
the Spaniards • causes of war with Alexander, Moscow cam- 
paign ; wars of Liberation ; territorial settlement made at the 
Congress of Vienna, new position granted to Russia and to 
Prussia ; the Waterloo campaign ; the Restoration in France. 

The history of Europe since 18 15 should be for the second- 
ary school pupil an explanation of the way in which the present 
states of Europe were finally constituted. For ex- From I8I5 
ample, it will be of little use to dwell upon the t0 I8SI * 
history of Germany and of Italy before 1848. The same thing 
is true of France, though in a less degree. The Bourbon and 
Orleanist monarchies accomplished little for the country and 
were merely passing phases of its political struggles. 

From 1815 to 1848 : the Holy Alliance, in distinction from 
this the alliance of England, Austria, Prussia, and Russia to 
maintain the status quo in France ; the intervention of the 
allies in Spain after England had withdrawn, the relation of 
this to the Monroe Doctrine ; the freeing of Greece ; the Bour- 
bons overthrown in France, Belgium created, reform in Eng- 
land, the Prussian Zollverein, the Eastern Question becomes 
important. 2 

The Revolution of 1848 in Germany is of deep interest, not 
so much because of its positive results, but because the manner 
of its failure in a measure justified Bismarck's policy of achieving 
unification through " blood and iron." In Italy, Sardinia came 



1 Napoleon's message to the Diet announcing the Confederation of 
the Rhine, and the abdication of Francis II. as Emperor, in Penn. Tr. 
and Rp., II. No. 2. Also, Documents on the Continental Blockade, 
and the Prussian Reform Edict. 

2 The French Constitutional Charter, the Holy Alliance, the German 
Act of Confederation, the Carlsbad Decrees, etc., in Penn. Tr. and Rp., 
I. No. 3. 



322 EUROPEAN HISTORY SINCE 1560 

forth from defeat the champion of the peninsula against Austrian 
domination. The year 1848, therefore, foreshadows the turn 
affairs were to take in the third quarter of the century, which 
was to be quite as fruitful as the first quarter had been. 

184-8 : reform in the papal states, revolution in the kingdom 
of Naples, Sardinia given a new constitution ; February Revo- 
lution in France, reasons why the republic was doomed to 
failure ; overthrow of Metternich, upheaval in Berlin and Milan, 
the distress of Austria the opportunity of Liberalism in Ger- 
many, the German National Parliament, loss of time in theo- 
retical discussions, Austria meanwhile by victories at Prague, in 
Italy, and in Vienna itself recovers power, the Prussian mon- 
arch reasserts himself against the Liberals, the work of the Par- 
liament henceforth doomed ; the Roman republic and its over- 
throw, vain struggle of Sardinia against Austria, succession of 
Victor Emmanuel ; attempt of Hungary to win independence ; 
humiliation of Prussia at Olmiitz ; the French republic de- 
stroyed by Napoleon III. 

From 185 1 until 1885 the interest is concentrated upon the 
reconstitution of the German Empire and the unification of 
Italy. The Eastern Question also absorbs atten- 
tion at the beginning and at the end of the period. 
France once more undergoes a serious political change, which 
results in the establishment of a stable republic. 

Crimean war : the proposition of the Czar Nicholas to Lord 
Aberdeen in 1844, the quarrel out of which the war grew, 
desire of Napoleon to pose as arbiter of Europe, fears felt in 
England of Russian aggression, the Sebastopol campaign, ap- 
pearance of Italy on the scene, Peace of Paris in its effect 
upon conditions within the Turkish Empire. 1 

Ger?nany and Italy : reorganization of the kingdom of Sar- 
dinia by Cavour, his agreement with Napoleon III., war of 
1859, uprising in central Italy, Garibaldi's expedition to Sicily 
and to Naples, Napoleon forced to make concessions to accom- 
plished facts. 

Bismarck becomes president of the Prussian Council, acts in 



1 Kinglake's description of the diplomatic origin of the Crimean War 
is unusually enlightening. 



EUROPEAN HISTORY SINCE 1560 323 

the Schleswig-Holstein affair with Austria and independently of 
the Confederation, meets the new and jealous policy of Austria 
with war, the minor German states crushed, Koniggratz, the 
treaty of Prague excludes Austria from Germany, Italy receives 
Venice as the price of her co-operation with Prussia, Prussia 
annexes Hanover, etc., North German Confederation. 1 

Jealousy between France and Prussia, the Spanish crown, 
campaign against Metz, Gravelotte, against Sedan, siege of 
Paris, government of National Defence, struggle in the prov- 
inces, Peace of Versailles, cession of Alsace and Lorraine ; 
constitution of the Empire, the Commune of Paris. 

The course in modern history may be brought down to the 
close of the nineteenth century if one is enamoured of the 
notion of completeness, but except in regard to its relations 
with Asia and Africa, the situation in Europe has not materially 
changed since the formation of the Triple Alliance, and of its 
counterpart the Dual Alliance. 

Since 1871 : establishment of a republic in France through 
the failure of the monarchist majority of the National Assembly 
to restore either the Comte de Chambord or the Comte de 
Paris to the throne ; the Bulgarian " atrocities " lead to war 
between Russia and Turkey, treaty of Adrianople, intervention 
of the English, Convention of Cyprus, treaty of Berlin ; Eng- 
land occupies Egypt ; union of Bulgaria and East Rumelia ; 
the Triple Alliance or League of Peace, this calls into being 
the Dual Alliance. 

In these topical summaries little emphasis has been placed 
on individual men, although the whole period from 1774 to 
1885 is rich in personality. Such men as Mira- 
beau, Lafayette, Danton, Robespierre, Talleyrand, 
Napoleon, Louis Philippe, Napoleon III., in France; Stein, 
Bismarck, William L, in Germany ; Metternich in Austria ; 
Cavour, Garibaldi, Mazzini, and Victor Emmanuel, in Italy, 
should be treated in connection with the events to which 
they contributed so much. 



1 Bismarck's Memoirs (The Man and the Statesman) introduce the 
reader into the spirit of Bismarck's policy as no other book does. 



324 EUROPEAN HISTORY SINCE 1560 

List of important dates : — 

1789. Beginning of the French Revolution. 

1792. Establishment of a republic in France. 

1794. Overthrow of Robespierre; end of the Reign of Terror. 

1 799. Napoleon becomes First Consul; 18th Brumaire. 

1805. Battles of Trafalgar and Austerlitz. 

1807. Treaty of Tilsit. 

18 15. Waterloo; final overthrow of Napoleon; settlement of 

territorial results of the Revolution and Napoleonic 

period. 
1823. Intervention of France in Spain; the Monroe Doctrine. 
1830. Overthrow of the Bourbons; creation of kingdom of 

Belgium. 
1848. General revolutions throughout Europe. 
1856. Peace of Paris ends Crimean war. 
1866. Austria driven out of Germany and Italy. 
187 1. New German Empire ; Italy unified ; France despoiled 

of Alsace and Lorraine. 
1878. Treaty of Berlin. 



CHAPTER XVIII 

HISTOBY OF THE UNITED STATES 
BIBLIOGRAPHY. 

For Selected Sources, Maps, and Guides, see list for Chapter XVI. 

Larger General Works : — 

For Bancroft, Hildreth, and Winsor, see list for Chapter XVI. 

Adams, Henry. History of the United States (1800-1817). 9 vols. 
New York, Charles Scribner's Sons. 

Hoist, Herman von. Constitutional History of the United States. 
8 vols. Chicago, Callaghan & Co. 

McMaster, J. B. A History of the People of the United States 
(1783-1830). 5 vols. New York, D. Appleton & Co. London, F. 
War ne & Co. 

Bhodes, J. P. History of the United States from the Compromise 
of 1850. 4 vols, (to 1865). New York and London, Macmillan. 

Schouler, James. History of the United States from Adoption of 
the Constitution to the Close of the Civil War. 6 vols. New York, 
Dodd, Mead & Co. 

Smaller General Works: — 

For Channing, Hart, Higginson, Smith, see list for Chapter XVI. 

Burgess, J. W. The Middle Period (1 Si 7-1858). — The Civil War 
and the Constitution. 2 vols. New York, Charles Scribner's Sons. 

Dunning, W. A. Essays on the Civil War and Reconstruction. 
New York and London, Macmillan. 

Fiske, John. The Critical Period. Boston, Houghton, Mifflin & Co. 
London, Macmillan & Co. 

Frcthingham, B. Rise of the Republic of the United States. Bos- 
ton, Little, Brown & Co. 

Walker, F. A. The Making of the Nation. New York, Charles 
Scribner's Sons. 

Wilson, Woodrow. Division and Reunion (1829-1889). New York 
and London, Longmans, Green & Co. 

Special Works : — 
Bolles, A. S. The Financial History of the United States. 3 vols. 
New York, D. Appleton & Co. 

White, H. Money and Banking. Boston, Ginn & Co. 



326 HISTORY OF THE UNITED STATES 

Bryce, James. The American Commonwealth. Macmillan. 

Ford, H. J. Rise and Growth of American Politics. New York and 
London, Macmillan. 

Hinsdale, B. A. The Old Northwest. Boston, Silver, Burdett & Co. 

Johnston, Alexander. American Politics. New York, H. Holt & Co. 

Maclay, E. S. A History of the United States Navy from 1795. 
New York, D. Appleton & Co. 3 vols. 

Boosevelt, Theodore. The Winning of the West. 4 vols. New 
York and London, G. P. Putnam's Sons. 

Bopes, J. C. The Story of the Civil War. New York and London, 
G. P. Putnam's Sons. 

Stanwood, Edward. A History of the Presidency. Boston, Hough- 
ton, Mifflin & Co. 

Taussig, F. W. Tariff History of the United States. New York 
and London, G. P. Putnam's Sons. 

Thorpe, F. N. Constitutional History of the American People. 
2 vols. New York, Harper & Bros. 

There are valuable histories of the States in the American Common- 
wealths series. Boston, Houghton, Mifflin & Co. (Barrows' Oregon 
must be excepted. It is one-sided and in part fictitious.) 

A Few Books of Travel : — 

Birkbeck, Morris. Notes of a Journey in America. London, 1818. 

Brissot, Jean Pierre B. de Warville. New Travels in the United 
States performed in 1788. London, 1794. 

Dwight, Timothy. Travels ; in New England and New York (1796 to 
1815). 4 vols. New Haven, 1821-1822. 

Dickens, Charles. American Notes for General Circulation. London. 
1842. 

Fremont, John C. Memoirs of my Life. Chicago. 1887. 

Grund, F. J. The Americans in their Moral, Social, and Political 
Relations. 2 vols. London, 1837. 

Lewis and Clark. Expedition of Lewis and Clark. Edited by 
Elliott Coues. 4 vols. New York, F. P. Harper. 

Martineau, Harriet. Societyin America (1834-1836). London, 1837 

Olmstead, F. L. The Seaboard Slave States, Journey to the. Back 
Country, Journey to Texas, 3 vols.; abridged in The Cotton Kingdom. 
2 vols. New York, 1856-1860. 

Parkman, Francis. The California and the Oregon Trail. New 
York, 1849. Republished by Little, Brown & Co., Boston. 

Tocqueville, A. de. Democracy in America. 2 vols. London and 
New York, Longmans, Green & Co. 

Trollope, Mrs. Frances M. Domestic Manners of the Americans. 
London, 1832. Republished by Dodd, Mead & Co., New York. 

Biographies : — 
There are many valuable biographies included in the American States- 
men and the Riverside Biographical Series (Boston, Houghton, Mifflin 



HISTORY OF THE UNITED STATES 327 

& Co.), in the Makers of America Series (New York, Dodd, Mead 
& Co.), and in the Beacon Biographies (Boston, Small, Maynard & Co.). 

Bancroft, Frederick. Life of W. H. Seward. 2 vols. New York, 
Harper & Bros. 

Curtis, George Ticknor. Life of Daniel Webster. 2 vols. New 
York, D. Appleton & Co. 

Nieolay, J. G., and John Hay. Life of Abraham Lincoln. 10 vols. 
New York, The Century Co. London, T. F. Unwin. 

Parton, J. Life of Andrew Jackson. 3 vols. Boston, Houghton, 
Mifflin & Co. 

Pierce, E. L. Memoir and Letters of Charles Sumner. 4 vols. 
Boston, Little, Brown & Co. 

Tyler, L. G. Letters and Times of the Tylers. 3 vols. Richmond, 
Whittet & Shepperson. 

A Few Memoirs : — 

Benton, T. H. Thirty Years View (1820-1850). 2 vols. New York, 
D. Appleton & Co. 

Blaine, J. G. Twenty Years of Congress (1 860-1880). 2 vols. Nor- 
wich, Ct., The Henry Bill Pub. Co. 

Cox, S. S. Three Decades of Federal Legislation (1855-188 5). 
Providence, R. L, J. A. & R. A. Reid. 

Douglas, Frederick. Life and Times. Boston, DeWolfe, Fiske & Co. 

Grant, U. S. Personal Memoirs. 2 vols. New York, The Century 
Co. London, S. Low & Co. 

McCulloch, Hugh. Men and Measures of Half a Century. New 
York, Charles Scribner's Sons. London, S. Low & Co. 

Maclay, "William. Journal. New York, D. Appleton & Co., 1890. 

Quincy, Josiah. Figures of the Past. Boston, Little, Brown & Co. 

Sherman, John. Recollections of Forty Years in House, Senate, 
and Cabinet. 2 vols. Akron, Ohio, The Saalfield Co. London, S. Low 
&Co. 

Sherman, W. T. Memoirs. 2 vols. D. Appleton & Co. The Sher- 
man Letters. New York, Charles Scribner's Sons. London, S. Low 
&Co. 

Books of Reference : — 

Encyclopaedia of United States History. 10 vols. New York, Har- 
per and Brothers. 

Jameson, J. F. Dictionary of American History. 

Lalor, J. L. Cyclopedia of Political Science, Political Economy, 
and of the Political History of the United States. 3 vols. 

"Wilson, J. G., and John Fiske. Appleton Cyclopaedia of Ameri- 
can Biography. New York, D. Appleton & Co. 

The History of the United States is taught chiefly in the ele- 
mentary school, although an advanced course is gradually finding 



328 HISTORY OF THE UNITED STATES 

a place in the programme of the secondary school. If it be 
taught in the last year, the character of the work is hardly to be 
In the Second- differentiated from what is done during the early 
ary School. years of college study. In this case emphasis may 
be put more upon the growth of the political system, industrial 
development, the method by which the region west of the 
Alleghanies has been settled and organized, and less upon what 
may be called the story of American history. It will be possi- 
ble also to discuss with greater advantage incidental questions, 
like those which concern the original relation of the States to 
the federal government or those involved in the slavery con- 
troversy. In respect to methods of work, there may be a 
wider use of the sources and more time given to elementary 
tasks of investigation. 

It will be the aim of this chapter briefly to explain and sum- 
marize the leading tendencies and questions which belong to 
the time from the organization of the Confederation to the close 
of Reconstruction. 1 

It will be advantageous to divide this time into shorter 
periods in order to bring out tendencies which successively 
became dominant, although there is the usual 
danger that the attempt to divide the general pro- 
gress of a nation into periods will lead to the neglect of other 
almost equally important phases of the subject. Writers of 
" guides " divide the time differently and describe differently 
the periods they create. The greater differences concern the 
years after the War of 1812. For example, Bacheler puts in 
three periods from 181 7 to 1855, — National Growth (18 17- 
1829), Critical Change (1829-1842), Slavery Agitation (1842- 

1 Such summaries within the space allotted to this chapter must 
necessarily be fragmentary and incomplete. The teacher is referred for 
fuller treatments to the various guides, notably to Channing and Hart. 
The references to books in this chapter are also meagre because it is im- 
possible to furnish in so short a space adequate bibliographical notes. 
Since all the important documents are reprinted in Macdonald's Select 
Charters, and many in the Old South Leaflets and Preston's Documents, 
it is not deemed necessary, except in special cases, to refer to these col- 
lections of sources. The same is true of Hart's Contemporaries. 



HISTORY OF THE UNITED STATES 329 

1856). McLaughlin divides the same years in this fashion, 
— Political and Industrial Reorganization (1817-1829), Democ- 
racy and Slavery (18 29-1 845), Territorial Expansion (1845- 
186 1). Mace analyzes the subject as follows : — 

Relations between Nationality and Democracy, 1 789-1840. 

1. A Period of Conflict, 1789-1803. 

2. The Mutual Approach of Nationality and Democracy, 

1800-1820. 

3. Fusion of Nationality and Democracy Working out its 

Results, 18 1 6-1 840. 
Relations between Nationality and Slavery, 18 20-1 870. 

1. Slavery Gradually Grows Hostile to Nationality, 1820- 

1840. 

2. Sectionalization of Interests and Sentiments, 1835- 

1860. 

These ways of managing the subject are in a sense typical. 
The first gives little recognition to the expansion of the coun- 
try, the second emphasizes that aspect, while the third empha- 
sizes the development of institutions and of the national spirit 
which gives them life. 

Whatever be the division the teacher should keep in view all 
the tendencies, political, industrial, and social, so that the 
result will be a clear comprehension of the lines 
along which the national life of the American cope * 
people has grown. Often these seemingly distinct tendencies 
are closely related. For example, the expansion of the people 
westward and the industrial organization of that great region 
were the most potent forces in stimulating the national spirit and 
in making dominant a certain interpretation of the Constitution. 

Although the chapter on the Founding of America dealt with 
the history of the Revolution, it did not include the organization 
of the central government of the colonies. The aim of its later 
pages was to show the process by which the colonies were 
brought to assert and achieve independence, leaving the begin- 
nings of their experiment at confederation as the first phase of 
the national history. 



330 HISTORY OF THE UNITED STATES 

It would be well as an introduction to review the attempts at 
united action prior to the outbreak of the Revolution, and to 
union or describe the governmental institutions in the sev- 
Disunion. era i colonies which had constituted the political 
training school of the people. The pupils will in this way more 
easily understand the problem that confronted the statesmen of 
the new Republic, namely, the substitution for the control which 
the English Crown had exercised of a central government which 
should be effective and yet which should not threaten the liber- 
ties of the separate states. When the colonies were reorganized 
as states, a feeling of loyalty to them rapidly grew up, and there 
was a tendency to return to the familiar colonial policy of 
unrelated commonwealths, a system no longer possible in the 
absence of the overlordship and protection once exercised by 
the mother country. It was fortunate for the Republic that the 
evils of the system embodied in the Articles of Confederation 
became very patent, for they forced men to believe in the ne- 
cessity of a stronger government, and thus opened the way for 
the creation of the Constitution. 

In dealing with the Confederation, emphasis should be laid 
upon disorders which the government was unable to check. 
The defects in the Articles may also be brought out by showing 
the remedies provided in the Constitution. 1 

Even in this period there were tendencies toward an exten- 
sion of the functions of the central government and a develop- 

m , . ^ ment of national spirit. This is brought out in the 
Colonization. , r ,-,.,, 

controversy over the western lands and in the adop- 
tion of the Northwest Ordinance. Both have another inter- 
esting relation. They form the necessary introduction to the 
expansion of the American people westward. In a sense it is 
true that from the beginning the Americans have been founders 
of colonies, although this general fact should not mislead the 
teacher into the statement that the earlier ventures of the United 
States were similar to the recent experiments in controlling 

1 Note particularly Articles II., V., VII., and the provision for an army 
in Article IX. 



HISTORY OF THE UNITED STATES 331 

Porto Rico and the Philippines. Mere distance across country 
on the same parallels of latitude offers no such obstacle to nor- 
mal expansion as distance over seas and southward into tropical 
lands already occupied by an alien or barbarous population. 
Because the two movements are so often confused in popular 
discussions of the subject it is the more important that the 
pupil should know the nature of this earlier colonization, the 
exact rights and privileges which the settlers enjoyed, and 
the extent to which the older communities assumed control 
over them. 

The Ordinance of 1787 has still another important bearing. 
Since it forbade slavery in the region north of the Ohio and 

east of the Mississippi, it constituted the first move „, 

, . ; Slavery . 

toward giving ascendancy to free territory. In con- 
nection with it, the attitude of the newly organized northern 
and southern states toward slavery should be noted. 

The Confederation : organization of state governments ; 
central government provided by the Articles, result of the 
method of voting by states, difficulty of amending the articles ; 
requisitions, loans, paper money; lack of power to regulate 
trade and its consequences in trade wars between the states; 
distress in the states, principally owing to disorder of the 
finances, Shays' rebellion ; relation of the western land claims 
to the adoption of the Articles, method of settlement by cession, 
the Ordinance of 1787 in relation to colonial policy and to 
slavery, time at which a measure of self-government was to 
be granted. 1 

The movement to remedy the defects in the scheme of gov- 
ernment under the Articles was in a sense a conservative reac- 
tion impelled by the desire to protect property The Federal 
against the reckless financiering of the states with Convention, 
their fondness for an irredeemable paper money. The Consti- 

1 Fiske's American Revolution and Critical Period ; Sumner's Robert 
Morris ; Sumner's Alexander Hamilton ; Frothingham's Rise of the Re- 
public ; Howard's Local Constitutional History ; MacMaster's History of 
United States (emphasizes social conditions) ; Roosevelt's Winning of the 
West ; Hinsdale's Old A 7 orthwest ; Indiana and Michigan in Common- 
wealths Series ; Fiske, Civil Government, S1-S8. 



33 2 HISTORY OF THE UNITED STATES 

tution itself in several of its provisions gives evidence of a dis- 
trust of what is now called democracy. The president was to 
be chosen in such a way that he would be lifted above all 
party influences. Each group of electors was to make its 
choice independently, this was to be forwarded to Congress, 
and if it was then found that the groups had united upon one 
man, he was to be president. If the election was thrown into 
the House of Representatives, each state was to have only one 
vote. This is only a single illustration of a lack of confidence 
in the wisdom of mere majorities. 

In its details, the plan of government framed by the Con- 
vention represents the results of English and colonial experi- 
ence rather than an ideal formed in the minds of the framers. 

In studying the Constitution attention should be fixed upon 
the difficulties which confronted the Convention, the compro- 
mises by which these were removed, and upon the nature of 
the government, particularly the distribution of power between 
the central government and the states. 

In dealing with the details of the system of government 
created by the Convention, it will be wise to adhere to a strictly 
Teaching the historical treatment. The pupil must realize that 
Constitution, ^he present government has a twofold origin, — on 
the one hand, the written instrument called the Constitution, 
on the other, acts of Congress, decisions of courts, and politi- 
cal customs. There must be a distinction between the original 
plan and later accretions. The need of this has already been 
hinted at in what was said of the presidency. It is also ob- 
vious that as soon as parties came into existence, a trouble 
would arise like the Jefferson-Burr incident of 1800. This 
made the twelfth amendment inevitable. The rise of national 
party machinery also profoundly modified the system of elect- 
ing presidents. American history as well as American govern- 
ment will be better understood if such facts are emphasized in 
their proper place chronologically, and not at the outset when 
the Constitution is under discussion. 

The study of the Convention also offers an opportunity to 



HISTORY OF THE UNITED STATES 333 

observe the beginnings of what were later to become strong 
political parties. One group of men felt more keenly the 
anarchy incident to the Confederation. Their hopes 
and interests were national rather than local. The 
other group looked upon the federal government only as a 
convenient means of protecting and supporting the states. 
These parties did not disintegrate when the adoption of the 
Constitution had been settled. Their attention was turned to a 
broad or a strict construction of its provisions. 

The Federal Convention : the preliminary convention at An- 
napolis, men who took the lead, sources of the Constitution ; 
the three compromises, (i) representation of large and small 
states in Congress, (2) representation of slaves, (3) the slave 
trade ; power to raise revenue granted the central government, 
limitations placed on Congress, limitations placed on the states, 
power of coercion granted the central government ; method 
of adoption and amendment ; ratification ; attitude toward the 
finished work of the Convention. 1 

The beginning of government under the Constitution offers a 
convenient opportunity to study the condition of the United 
States, the distribution of population, the prin- state of the 
cipal occupations of the people, the development of Country. 
industry, the means of communication, the newer western com- 
munities, and the general characteristics of American life. 

When Washington had been inaugurated, the important task 
remained of organizing the new government and of fixing the 
lines along which it was to develop. It is one Beginnings of 
thing to draw up a constitution and quite another Government - 
to define it by a broad or a restricted interpretation of the 
powers that have been granted. The more mature pupils will 
be interested to observe how twelve years of rule by men who 



1 In addition to the books previously mentioned : Von Hoist's Con- 
stitutional History ; Bancroft's History of the Constitution ; Stevens' 
Sources of the Constitution ; Fisher's Evolution of the Constitution of the 
United States ; Meigs' Growth of the Constitution in the Federal Conven- 
tion of 1787 ; Ford's Development of American Politics. Compare the 
first eleven amendments with the English Bill of Rights and the French 
Declaration of the Rights of Man and the Citizen. 



334 HISTORY OF THE UNITED STATES 

believed in strong government set the traditions in favour of 
the federal authority so firmly that when the ardent champions 
of states rights came into office, they were glad to use the 
powers that had been created. 

During Washington's administration another vital question 
was determined. This was the attitude which the Republic 
Foreign was to take toward European states. The open- 

Relations. j n g scenes of the French Revolution came a few 
days after Washington's inauguration. There was every reason 
why the Americans should watch with enthusiasm the early 
struggles of the French for rights like those which they had 
themselves long enjoyed, especially since some of the leading 
Revolutionists like Lafayette and the Lameths had fought for 
the cause of independence in America. The matter became 
serious as soon as war broke out between France and England 
in 1 793 and many Americans desired to support their old ally. 
Washington then marked out the policy of the Republic as one 
of strict neutrality, avoiding all entangling alliances. It was dif- 
ficult for the United States to adhere to such a policy, because 
the area of conflict eventually included the civilized world. In 
a sense the Americans were still colonists and were deeply 
affected by what was taking place in Europe. Moreover, their 
growing trade threatened to drag them into the struggle, what- 
ever might be their inclination. This became more evident in 
Jefferson's administration, after the outbreak of the second 
series of wars. And yet, if they could not keep out of the fray, 
they lost one of the advantages of independence, and sank 
back toward the condition prior to the Revolution, when they 
were objects of attack during every war in which England was 
involved. 

Another fact of Washington's administration to which par- 
ticular attention must be called is the development of parties, 

— the Federalists and the Republicans, as the old 
Hew Parties. 

Anti-Federalists came to be called. The latter 

favoured an interpretation of the Constitution that would confine 

the central government strictly within the limits indicated by the 



HISTORY OF THE UNITED STATES 335 

letter of the instrument. They would restrict the powers of gov- 
ernment in the interests of liberty. This party gained influence 
as the people began to view with alarm the extensive exercise 
of authority which they felt was concentrated in the hands of a 
few men. When the Federalists passed the Alien and Sedition 
Acts, the Republicans replied with the Virginia and Kentucky 
Resolutions. Here the idea of Nullification makes its appear- 
ance, an idea which was later to be adopted by the New 
England Federalists when they regarded themselves as an 
oppressed minority, and by the South Carolina leaders to pro- 
tect their own local interests. 

The Federalist Sufireviacy : the choice of electors in various 
states ; organization of the administration, creation of a cabinet, 
Washington's selection of cabinet officers ; financial policy of 
Hamilton, assumption of state debts, United States Bank, the 
tariff, the excise, Whiskey Rebellion ; French Revolutionary 
wars, sympathy in America, neutrality, Genet incident, Jay 
Treaty ; election of Adams ; XYZ affair, little war with France ; 
Alien and Sedition Acts, Virginia and Kentucky Resolutions ; 
the government established at the new capitol ; Congressional 
caucus nominations for the presidency ; the method of elect- 
ing the president results in a struggle between Jefferson and 
Burr in the House ; removal of the difficulty by the twelfth 
amendment. 1 

For the study of the period of Republican supremacy, there 
are two topics of particular interest, — first, the attitude taken by 
the new administration toward the question of the 
powers granted by the Constitution, and second, the I80I ~ 1817 ' 
attempt of the government to keep out of the great struggle 
which was convulsing Europe. The purchase of Louisiana was 
the most startling illustration of the length to which the Re- 

1 Additional references: Lodge's Washington; Sumner's Hamilton; 
Morse's Jefferson and Adams ; George Gibbs' Memoirs of the Admin- 
istrations of Washington and Ada?ns ; Trescott, Diplomatic History of 
the Administrations of Washington and Adams; Maclay's Journal; 
the XYZ Letters are collected in Penn. Tr. &> Rp., VI. No. 2. For 
Genet, see Turner, Origin of Genet's Projected Attack on Louisiana and the 
Floridas, Am. Hist. Rev., July, 1898. 



336 HISTORY OF THE UNITED STATES 

publican leaders were ready to go in the face of their theories, 
once they were convinced that the public interest demanded 
such steps. 

The purchase of Louisiana has another obvious relation, 
that is, to the development of the West. This is more impor- 
tant than its significance in reference to the theories of the 
Constitution. It may be remarked here that with each ac- 
cession of territory or with a redistribution of territory already 
possessed, the teacher should recur to the maps, so that the 
pupils will understand the course of the territorial development 
of the United States. It is true, however, that some of the 
divisions were made for administrative purposes and were not 
of lasting importance. 

The causes of the second war with Great Britain are important 
because they have often been somewhat misconceived and have 
Quarrel with contributed to the establishment of a tradition of 
England. enmity between the Americans and the English. 

Popular sentiment in the matter is in a measure justified, because 
the treatment of America by England, particularly after 1805, 
was exasperating, not to say insulting. But it was not inexpli- 
cable. To comprehend the English policy, it may be well for 
the teacher to study the Armed Neutralities of 1780 and 1800, 
and to note the policy which England had attempted to carry 
out in dealing with other nations. After the renewal of the 
war in 1803, and especially after Napoleon had gained control of 
western Germany and had crushed Austria, English trade suffered 
severely. It was not unnatural that England should attempt to 
keep her commerce from falling into the hands of neutrals, — 
and the United States was practically the only neutral left, — 
because if the profits of trade disappeared, she must yield to 
Napoleon. She therefore interpreted the rules in regard to 
neutrals always to her own advantage, and after the paper war 
was begun between herself and Napoleon by declarations of 
blockade, decrees, and orders in council, the rights of the 
neutral were outrageously violated. 

The matter was further complicated by the question of im- 



HISTORY OF THE UNITED STATES 337 

pressment. The Republic recognized the right of the indi- 
vidual to renounce his allegiance and to become one of its own 
citizens. European states recognized no such right. The 
English saw their sailors deserting and entering the American 
merchant service, where they would receive higher wages and 
better treatment. Their navy was in danger of being seriously 
crippled, exposing them to the attacks of Napoleon. In their 
endeavour to vindicate their own rights, they blindly trampled 
upon the rights of others. They took not only the newly 
naturalized English sailor from the decks of American ships, 
but also many native Americans who offered abundant evidence 
of their origin. 1 

In studying the 1812 war, which grew out of these contro- 
versies, the teacher should not countenance the popular tradi- 
tion that it was a second glorious triumph for 
American arms. The pupils should know the 
truth. They frequently misunderstand the naval war, which 
was almost the only phase creditable to the Americans. They 
infer from the brilliant victories gained in single-ship actions 
that the American navy was superior. It is well to remember 
that at the beginning of the war the English had over one thou- 
sand ships and the Americans seventeen, and that in the battles 
that were fought no ship-of-the-line took part. Of these the 
English had two hundred, the Americans none. 2 

Republican supremacy and the War of 18 12 : Republican 
supremacy, simplicity, reduction of expenditure ; disavowal of 
" midnight appointments " and repeal of judiciary act. 

1 All these questions are fully explained in Henry Adams' History of 
the United States. See also Mahan, Influence of the Sea Power upon 
History, and Influence of the Sea Power upon the French Revolution and 
Empire, particularly II. 266 ff. 

2 Captain Mahan remarks : " The War of 181 2 demonstrated the use- 
fulness of a navy, — not indeed, by the admirable but utterly unavailing 
single-ship victories that illustrated its course, but by the prostration into 
which our seaboard and external communications fell, through lack of a 
navy at all proportionate to the country's needs and exposure." The 
Future in Relation to American Sea Power, 149. 

22 



333 HISTORY OF THE UNITED STATES 

Purchase of Louisiana, question about the boundaries, form 
of government given to the territory of Orleans ; explorations 
of Lewis and Clark, of Zebulon Pike, founding of Astoria. 

Jefferson's naval policy, war with Tripoli ; renewed difficul- 
ties with England and France, effect of the English application 
of the Rule of 1756, paper blockade of the Continent from 
Brest to Hamburg, Berlin Decree, Orders in Council, Milan 
Decree ; attempt of Jefferson to use measures of peaceful retali- 
ation, non-importation, the embargo, non-intercourse, the Macon 
law 5 impressment, American naturalization laws, incident of the 
Chesapeake and the Leopard, of the President and the Little 
Belt. 

War spirit among the Young Republicans like Clay and Cal- 
houn, belated concessions by England, professed objects of the 
war ; failure of the attempts to invade Canada, and failure of 
the British to gain a foothold in the West, strategic value of 
Perry r s and McDonough's victories ; career of the American 
ships on the ocean ; the Hartford Convention. 1 

The succeeding period is one of economic and political 
reorganization. The tremendous stimulus that the European 
Reorgani- war na( ^ brought to the development of American 
zation. commerce was removed. The American shipmas- 

ters found their profits decreasing in the face of a world-wide 
competition. Even before the wars had closed, the embargo 
and similar measures had compelled capital to withdraw from 
trade and seek employment in the development of manufac- 
tures. Such measures, together with the war, had acted as a 
high protective tariff, and behind this barrier the " infant " in- 
dustries had begun to thrive. There is an interesting parallel 
between this result and the result of the Continental Blockade 
in Europe. From that period dated the beginning of important 
French and German industries. In both cases also, in Amer- 
ica and in Europe, there was another consequence, namely, the 



1 In addition to Adams and Mahan, and other books already men- 
tioned, — particularly those on the West, Thompson's Louisiana, Gay's 
Madison, Sumner's Jackson, Von Hoist's Calhoun, Schurz's Clay, Roose- 
velt's Naval War of 1812, Maclay's United Slates Navy. For Berlin and 
Milan Decrees and the English Orders in Council, see Penn. Tr. &> Rp. t 
III. No. 2. See also Lawrence, Principles of International Law. 



HISTORY OF THE UNITED STATES 339 

creation of a demand for artificial protection as soon as the 
barrier of war was removed. This led to the Prussian tariff 
system, eventually to the Prussian Zollverein, which was so 
important an element in establishing Prussian ascendency in 
Germany. In America it led to the framing of the tariff of 
1816. 

This period witnessed the flow of great streams of emigration 
westward, probably the most important single influence then set 
in motion. Such a subject is interesting to the westward 
pupils, because it is so full of incidents of explora- Eo! 
tion and adventure, of travel over rough roads and along diffi- 
cult trails, of voyages on the lakes and down the rivers in the 
early steamboats. For many years it was strangely neglected, 
while every detail of local colonial history was told as if this had 
a peculiar instructiveness not belonging to the other. The 
settlement and organization of civilization from the Alleghanies 
to the Pacific is a process as worthy of study as the early strug- 
gles of the colonies on the Atlantic seaboard. 

The rapid opening of western lands speedily brought forward 
a question which was to engross attention during the next gen- 
eration, and was eventually to bring on the Civil Miss 0ur i 
War. Was property in slaves to be permitted in Compromise, 
the states organized out of the new territory beyond the Missis- 
sippi ? The result of the first controversy was the Missouri 
Compromise. In order to understand this the pupils should 
review the organization of states since 1800, noting which were 
slave and which were free. They should see on the map the 
situation which resulted from the Compromise. 

Another event of this period is the disappearance of the Fed- 
eral party, making necessary the reorganization of parties along 
different lines. The distinctions which had originally divided 
the two groups had passed away with the war. Indeed, before 
the end of the war, the Federalists and the Republicans had 
completely changed places in their attitudes toward the powers 
respectively of the states and of the central government. 

As the Monroe Doctrine has become a fixed element of 



340 HISTORY OF THE UNITED STATES 

national policy, it is necessary that its beginnings be studied 
with special care. It was announced in connection with events 
Monroe °f peculiar interest to the people of the United States, 

Doctrine. events which marked in a sense the end of the 
colonial era on the American continents. The revolts which 
destroyed the best part of the Spanish empire in America gave 
to these continents henceforward the character of a group of 
autonomous states. The same revolutionary spirit invaded 
even Canada, which was still loyal, and it soon became neces- 
sary to establish local self-government there under the form of 
a grant of parliamentary institutions with a responsible ministry. 

Economic and political reorganization (1817-1829): early 
history of American manufactures, tariff of 18 16 ; western emi- 
gration, the three main streams, race elements in this emigration, 
organization of the states of Indiana, 18 16 ; Mississippi, 18 17 ; 
Illinois, 1818; Alabama, 1819; Maine, 1820; Missouri, 1821 ; 
Missouri Compromise ; purchase of East and West Florida, 
abandonment of the claim to the territory beyond the Sabine 
(Texas) ; fixing the boundary on the north, joint occupation 
of Oregon. 

Disintegration of the Federalist party; election of 1820; 
election of 1824, contest in the House, Jackson's charges 
against Adams and Clay; Adams' management of the civil 
service, the "tariff of abominations"; election of 1828. 1 

In the period from 1829 to 1845 are observable some of the 
results of the economic and political reorganization just treated. 
National It may be characterized as the " Triumph of De- 

Democracy, mocracy," but this democracy was not of the Jef- 
ferson type. It represented a new interest of the people in 
managing the central government rather than a jealous defence 
of local rights against the encroachments of federal authority. 
The accession of the people to power still further strengthened 

1 Additional references, — for western emigration, especially Roose- 
velt's Benton, McLaughlin's Cass, Shaler's Kentucky, King's Ohio, 
MacMaster, Vol.V. ; Monroe Doctrine, Gilman's Monroe, Political Science 
Quarterly, March, 1896, Foster's Century of American Diplomacy ; Taus- 
sig's Tariff History of the United States. For the revolt of the Spanish 
colonies, Payne's European Colonies. 



HISTORY OF THE UNITED STATES 34 1 

national feeling. Unfortunately this feeling was not shared by 
the South to the same extent as by the North, for it was the 
North which had chiefly been influenced by the great movement 
of western emigration and industrial reorganization. Since gen- 
eral changes of this character cannot be fully comprehended 
by pupils because of their narrow experience of affairs, the 
teacher should be careful not to indulge too much in such 
interesting speculations. It is worth noting that in the opinion 
of some writers this same movement had resulted in the ap- 
pearance of a new interpretation of the Constitution, substituting 
for the "compact" theory the theory of a supreme national 
government. 1 

In Jackson's first administration, the spirit of the new democ- 
racy was tested by the attempt of South Carolina to nullify the 
tariff of 1832. All the incidents of this famous 
controversy should be carefully studied because 
they throw so much light upon what was to follow. The 
Hayne-Webster debate should also be emphasized. In it 
American oratory reached its highest level, at least until Lin- 
coln's day. 

Meanwhile the same tendency toward nationalization was 
furthered by the appearance of a new bond of union, — the 
railroad. In connection with the early railroads, there should 
be a study of the canals and the effects they produced in shap- 
ing the development of various communities, particularly in the 
West. Such topics bring the study of history and economics 
close together. 

The party conventions which after 1832 nominated candi- 
dates for the presidency are another expression of the tendency 
to consolidate everything on a national scale. This particular 
effort was assisted by the introduction of the spoils system. 

In the discussion of the spoils system there should be a 

review of the history of the use of the appointing 

- . Spoils, 

power since the organization of the government. 

It would be well also to compare the English experience with 
1 Woodrow Wilson, Division and Reunion, 45 ff. 



342 HISTORY OF THE UNITED STATES 

patronage, as well as the French experience during the reign 
of Louis Philippe. As soon as a vast army of officials was 
needed to transact the business of the government, their 
appointment would put a dangerous power into the hands of 
the president. 

The financial history of Jackson's and Van Buren's adminis- 
trations deserves a treatment suited to the capacity of the 
Money and pupils. It turned upon two things, first, the need 
Banking. of capital to develop the resources of the West, 
and second, Jackson's distrust of the United States Bank. 
People in the West desired to borrow, often on dubious security, 
and the State banks, influenced by the tendency toward specu- 
lation, were quite ready to make loans in the form of bank 
notes. As long as the United States Bank with its enormous 
capital and with its well-secured notes remained in the field, 
these State banks were forced to be cautious in the issue of their 
notes, because these would depreciate in comparison with the 
notes of the United States Bank. An attempt on its part fur- 
ther to encroach upon their territory led them to join in 
the outcry against so dangerous a monopoly of the money 
power. When the renewal of the charter was vetoed by Jack- 
son and the government deposits were withdrawn, the Bank 
contracted its loans and seriously embarrassed the money mar- 
ket in the East. At the same time the "pet' 7 State banks 
received the government deposits, which, combined with the 
withdrawal of the United States Bank from the field, enabled 
them greatly to increase their loans. So alarming was the con- 
sequent inflation that the government refused to receive these 
State notes in return for land, and after shaking in this way the 
credit of the banks, it began to withdraw from them the surplus 
for distribution among the states. The result was the panic of 
1837. If such a line of thought be followed out with careful 
explanations, the pupils should be able to understand the simple 
questions of finance which are involved. 

The same period saw the rise of the anti-slavery agitation. 
This should be studied in a spirit of fairness to the South as 



HISTORY OF THE UNITED STATES 343 

well as to the North. 1 It should be remembered that neither 

slavery nor the movement to abolish it is peculiar to the United 

States. The pupil should review the different forms M 

r r . , Slavery. 

of slavery which he has noted since he began the 

study of history. He will recall that slavery was fundamental 

in the structure of Greek and Roman society, and that this 
slavery was more dangerous than negro slavery, because it sub- 
jected men of the same race and traditions to one another. 
Mediaeval society had traces of slavery in its system of serfdom. 
With the discoveries and the expansion of European power 
beyond its customary limits came the subjection of barbarous 
peoples, particularly of the African blacks. It is their use as 
slaves in the West Indies and in the United States that particu- 
larly concerns us. There was an abolition movement in Eng- 
land and in France as well as in the United States before the 
eighteenth century closed. The pupils may study with advan- 
tage the experience of the French in trying to abolish slavery 
in San Domingo during the French Revolution, and the move- 
ment in England under Buxton which after the liberal influences 
became dominant in the House of Commons resulted in the 
extinction of slavery throughout the British dominions, with the 
indemnification of the owners. All such facts form the setting 



1 The pupil should be made acquainted with slavery as it actually 
existed in the South. He should realize that although the blacks suf- 
fered much, there were compensations. Slavery brought them from 
African savagery into the civilized world, and taught them many lessons 
which centuries of experience were required to teach the white race. 
The greatest evils of the system were the demoralization of many of the 
whites and the waste of economic resources. A faithful picture of 
slave life may be taken from the trustworthy accounts of travellers in 
the South. The pupil should be taught to understand the attitude of the 
intelligent slaveholder, to see how he had convinced himself that the 
system was something divinely ordered and without which there could 
be no prosperity in the South. At the same time the pupil should real- 
ize the feelings with which the average Northerner looked upon the 
encroachments of slavery, jealous as he was of the rights and dignity of 
free labor. Kemble, four na I of a Residence on a Georgia Plantation, Olm- 
stead's Cotton Kingdom t Susan Dabney Smedes' Memoirs of a Southern 
Planter, A. H. Stephens' Corner Stone Speech in Johnston's American 
Orations. 



344 HISTORY OF THE UNITED STATES 

of the anti-slavery controversy in America. The teacher may ask 
why it was comparatively easy for England to make an equitable 
settlement of the conflict, while America drifted into a terrible 
civil war before the inevitable change was brought about. 

One incident of the early controversy deserves special em- 
phasis, because of the high example it offered of unselfish 
devotion to a conception of duty. This was ex- President John 
Quincy Adams' defence of the right of petition. 

Democracy and Slavery, 1829-1845: inauguration of Jack- 
son, spoils system ; " Kitchen " cabinet, the Foote resolution, 
Webster-Hayne debate, tariff of 1832, Nullification, Jackson's 
proclamation, the Force Bill, the Compromise tariff of 1833. 

Garrison founds the Liberator, Nat Turner insurrection, 
conflict in Congress over slavery petitions, "gag" resolutions, 
efforts of John Quincy Adams, murder of Lovejoy, rise of abo- 
lition sentiment in the North. 

First railroads, opening of western lands, Black Hawk war, 
State banks and the United States Bank, Jackson's war on the 
Bank, this issue in the election of 1832, Jackson vetoes the 
renewal of the charter ; removes the deposits, places the funds 
in " pet " banks, the Specie Circular, withdrawal and distribu- 
tion of the Surplus Revenue, panic of 1837, Van Buren feels 
the effect, the Independent Treasury scheme. 

The Log Cabin, Hard Cider Campaign ; Liberty party, Har- 
rison's death ; Tyler's controversy with the Whigs, resignation 
of his cabinet except Webster; the Webster- Ashburton Treaty. 1 

With the annexation of Texas, the history of the country for 
sixteen years becomes simplified into the struggle of the South 
Slave t0 obtain more slave territory, either by annexation 

Territory. or ^y a practical repeal of the Missouri Compro- 
mise, which closed to slavery the part of the Louisiana Pur- 
chase north of 36 30'. The rapid growth of the Northern 
population had deprived the South of equal weight in the 
House of Representatives, and only an addition of new slave 

1 Additional references : Curtis' and Lodge's Webster, Shepard's Van 
Buren, Julian's Giddings, Morse'sy. Q. Ada?ns (particularly interesting 
on the struggle for right of petition), Tyler's Letters and Times of the 
Tylers, Benton's Thirty Years View, Garrison, W. P. and F. J., William 
Lloyd Garrison, Bourne's Surplus Revenue of 1837. 



HISTORY OF THE UNITED STATES 345 

states before the northwest was settled could preserve the 
equilibrium of the sections in the Senate. The stages in the 
struggle are formed by the annexation of Texas, the Com- 
promise of 1850, the Kansas-Nebraska Act of 1854, and the 
Dred Scott case in 1857. 

While the controversy was still going on, a new generation of 
statesmen appear, taking the places of Clay, Calhoun, and 

Webster. These were men like Seward, Chase, and 

r .. , New Men. 

Lincoln, who saw that compromises were futile, ana 

that there was " an irrepressible conflict," or, as Lincoln put the 
matter, " either the opponents of slavery will arrest the further 
spread of it ... or its advocates will push it forward till it shall 
become alike lawful in all the states, old as well as new, — 
North as well as South." In studying the older leaders the 
teacher should be careful to note the considerations that moved 
them. Webster's Seventh of March speech was dictated by 
his fears of a disruption of the Union. He believed that the 
law " of physical geography " would keep slavery out of much 
of the new territory, and that it was useless as well as danger- 
ous to exasperate the South by uncompromisingly opposing its 
wishes. 

The rapid settlement of California after the discovery of gold 
offers an interesting illustration of the way in which the ten- 
dencies of development were against the Southern- 

Ull \. ,, . . . r • u 1 Tne Nos- 

ers. At the same time the invention of agricultural 

machinery, the extension of the railroad systems, the construc- 
tion of the electric telegraph were giving the Middle West such 
industrial strength that its decision in the controversy must be 
decisive. Immigration had done much to break up old ties, 
so that the sentiment of nationality found few obstacles in local 
attachments fortified by tradition. And the Europeans who 
settled, in the upper Mississippi valley knew nothing of " states " ; 
they had heard only of America, the refuge of the oppressed, 
the opportunity of the poor, the land of freedom. 

The Dred Scott decision illustrates the limitations under 
which the Supreme Court works. In a question of theory, 



34-6 HISTORY OF THE UNITED STATES 

lying outside the sphere of strictly constitutional or legal inter- 
pretation, it cannot oppose itself to the growing convictions of 
Dred Scott tne people. Whether the negro was a piece of pro- 
Case, perty or not was just such a question. Chief Jus- 
tice Taney committed the same blunder that Justice Berkeley 
made in the equally famous Ship-money case by giving his 
theory of the duty of Parliament to the King. 

There should be a careful study of the causes which dis- 
rupted the old parties and led to the building up of new ones, 
especially of the Republican party, which has with short inter- 
vals maintained an unbroken ascendency from i860 to the 
present day. 

Expansion and slavery, 1845-1860 : the origin of the Texas 
republic, grounds on which annexation was pushed forward, its 
opponents ; was the Mexican war avoidable after Texas was 
annexed? attitude of the anti-slavery leaders towards the war, 
seizure of California, terms of the treaty of Guadalupe Hidalgo ; 
the Oregon settlement ; the Walker tariff ; attempt by the Wil- 
mot Proviso to exclude slavery from territory to be purchased 
from Mexico. 

The election of 1848, appearance of the Free Soil party, 
Taylor's policy ; discovery of gold in California and effect of 
this on the situation ; Taylor's death; aims of the Compromise 
of 1850, Webster's attitude, Calhoun's analysis of the situation, 
treatment of the fugitive slave question, attempts to enforce the 
law in the North, the Burns case, the Oberlin-Wellington rescue, 
Mrs. Stowe's Uncle Tom?s Cabin. 

Kansas-Nebraska Act, policy of Douglas, treatment of the 
Missouri Compromise, how its repeal was regarded by the anti- 
slavery leaders ; conflict in Kansas, New England Emigration 
Society, "Border Ruffians," the Topeka Convention, the Le- 
compton Constitution, attitude of Douglas, John Brown. 

Elements of the Republican party, slave property nationalized 
by the Dred Scott decision, attitude taken by Lincoln during 
the debates with Douglas ; John Brown raid ; indication in 
Helper's Impending Crisis of anti-slavery feeling among the 
non-slaveholding whites in the South. 1 

1 Additional references : Rhodes' History of the United States from the 
Compromise of 1850, Morse's Lincoln, Nicolay and Hay's Lincoln, Lo- 
throp's Seward, Pierce's Stimner, Royce's California. 



HISTORY OF THE UNITED STATES 347 

A clear understanding of the secession movement and of the 
war for the Union is rendered difficult, because for the North 
as well as for the South the issue changed either 
upon the outbreak of hostilities or during the course 
of the struggle. The Southern leaders forced on secession in 
order to preserve the system of slavery from the attacks which 
they believed would shortly be made upon it if they remained 
within the Union. Many Southerners, however, supported the 
Confederacy because of state pride, or because they were 
angered by what seemed to them an attempt at the coercion 
of states. This sentiment and the war itself created the 
" Solid South." 

The North entered the war to preserve the Union, not to 
abolish slavery. As the war went on, it was found that the 
abolition of slavery would probably be a necessary consequence 
of the war, or at least a means of seriously crippling the states 
in rebellion, and so the enthusiasm of a moral crusade was 
added to the movement. 

At the distance of a generation, there is an illusion of a 
united North. Had the Southern leaders not precipitated the 
struggle in the manner they did, the weakness of Attitude of 
the position which Lincoln's administration occu- North* 
pied would have been startlingly obvious. By their ill-timed 
aggressiveness they placed extraordinary powers in the hands 
of the President, and called into being for his support an over- 
whelming national sentiment which made opposition to the 
administration dangerous. 

Facts of this sort emphasize the necessity of preserving the 
historical attitude of mind, and seeking to follow such a great 
movement through its successive phases, and so avoid the error 
of distorting the past by throwing back upon it the outline of 
events which later changed the situation. 

The study of the war should be prefaced with a review of 
the relative strength of the North and South at different periods 
since the close of the 18 12 War, for in a sense the issue was 
decided before a battle had been fought. If the economic 



348 HISTORY OF THE UNITED STATES 

development of the North and South has been thoroughly 
understood, the pupil can easily comprehend the great advan- 
tage that lay on the side of the North. The influence of the 
West which cast in its lot with the Union was decisive. The 
North had a larger population and greater wealth, and was able 
through its manufactures to supply the necessities of war from 
its own resources. The South, on the other hand, relied on ob- 
taining its war supplies from abroad in exchange for its cotton. 
When this was prevented by the Federal blockade, it was neces- 
sary to improvise manufactures at the cost of time and energy. 

There should be a careful examination of the topography of 
the country and of the railways, rivers, and roads which made 
possible the moving of armies. Young pupils often think of a 
perfectly flat surface in connection with the movement of 
armies. They also ignore the difficulties that arise from the 
necessity of transporting great quantities of provisions and 
other supplies. 

In studying the military operations, it is well to begin with 
clear ideas of the problem which the Northern generals had to 

solve as soon as it became evident that the Confed- 
Campaigns. . _.. 

eracy must act on the defensive. The almost con- 
tinuous fighting in Virginia was in a sense a pivot around which 
swung the campaign for the Mississippi valley and the cotton 
states. Not too exclusive an attention should be fixed upon 
the western campaigns ; otherwise there will arise the illusion 
of a long series of Northern victories. 

In connection with the military operations, the work of the 
fleet should be carefully studied, because it not only helped the 
army on the Mississippi, but it also cut the trade routes by 
which the South hoped to obtain supplies and so slowly starved 
the country into surrender. 

Another important topic is the effect the war had upon the 
government in strengthening it permanently and in temporarily 

placing a practical dictatorship in the hands of the 

president. If before the war there was any ques- 
tion of the supremacy of the federal authority, that question 



HISTORY OF THE UNITED STATES 349 

could never be asked after Appomattox. A new danger arose, 
the danger of over-centralization, of unduly crippling the states. 

Secession and the Civil War : attitude of the Republicans in 
i860 toward slavery in the territories and in the states ; schism 
in the Democratic party over the slavery policy, attitude of 
South Carolina toward Lincoln's possible election ; the seces- 
sion movement, states which seceded before April, 186 1, senti- 
ment in the North toward secession movement, final efforts at 
compromise. 

Effect of the attack on Fort Sumter and Lincoln's call for vol- 
unteers upon the North and the South, the ground on which 
Lincoln based his action, preparedness of each section ; 
Lincoln's use of extraordinary war powers ; the cry " On to 
Richmond" and Bull Run. 

The Border states, Lincoln's policy toward them, the war 
policy of Congress, financial measures; the blockade, attitude 
of foreign powers, especially of England and France, the Trent 
affair. 

Situation at the beginning of 1862, movement into Tennes- 
see, Fort Donelson, opening the Mississippi as far as Memphis ; 
Shiloh ; control of the Memphis-Charleston railroad ; seizure 
of the mouth of the Mississippi, and capture of New Orleans. 

Battle of the Monitor and Merrimac and its effect upon naval 
warfare ; Peninsular campaign and Antietam ; Bragg's raid into 
Kentucky and his repulse. 

Emancipation Proclamation: second failure to open the 
road to Richmond, Fredericksburg and Chancellorsville, Lee 
attempts to invade the North and is stopped at Gettysburg. 

Grant captures Vicksburg, fall of Port Hudson, the Missis- 
sippi open to the sea ; Bragg pressed back to Chickamauga, 
Rosecrans defeated at Chickamauga, Grant restores the situa- 
tion in the battles about Chattanooga. 

Campaign of 1864 against Richmond and Atlanta, siege of 
Petersburg, March to the Sea, fall of Savannah, Sherman turns 
north, Grant forces Lee to surrender at Appomattox. 

Financial situation of the country in 1865, public debt, effect 
of the war on the country's development, the armies disbanded. 1 



1 Additional references : Rhodes, Vols. III. and IV., Greeley's 
American Conflict, Pollard's Lost Cause, Stephens' War between the States, 
Davis' Rise and Fall of the Confederate Government ; Ropes' Story of the 
Civil War, Comte de Paris' History of the Civil War, Battles and Leaders of 
the Civil War: Seward's Seward in Washington, Blaine's Twenty Years in 



350 HISTORY OF THE UNITED STATES 

The delicate question of constitutional interpretation which 
came up when peace made it necessary to decide whether the 
seceding states were within or without the Union 
Reconstruction.^ hardly be discussed with profit by young pupils. 
Their attention should instead be directed to the actual cir- 
cumstances of the time which determined the policy of Recon- 
struction. It has on the whole been true in the history of the 
United States that constitutional theories have been devised to 
support the policy of the government, rather than that the 
policy of the government has been determined by constitutional 
theories. It is necessary to study the situation after Lincoln's 
assassination, the personal characteristics of Johnson, his posi- 
tion as a president without a party, his inability to deal with 
political leaders, the feeling of Congress, the attitude of the 
partially reorganized states towards the negro, and the effect of 
this upon Congress. 

The possibility of a disastrous conflict between the executive 
and Congress is strikingly illustrated in Johnson's administra- 
President and tion. The experience of the country in Tyler's 
Congress. t j me was repeated with consequences more alarm- 
ing as the issues were more intense. A study of this quarrel 
with Congress and of the impeachment proceedings will show 
the pupil better than any abstract discussion the disadvan- 
tages that result from the " separation of powers," as it is called, 
in our scheme of government. Had the impeachment been 
successful, it would have altered the frame of government and 
made the executive subservient to the legislature. 

The study of the recent history of the United States is useful 
as a study of current events, and yet its incidents are so near 

that it is impossible for either pupil or teacher to 
Recent History. .... . . „ , 

see them in their true perspective. All that is sig- 
nificant since the war may be understood quite as well from the 
events of the period which ended during Hayes' administration. 



Congress, McCulloch's Men and Measures of Half a Century, Grant's Per- 
sonal Memoirs, Sherman's Memoirs ; Mahan's Farragut, Hart's Chase, The 
Sherman Letters, Schwab's Confederate States of America. 



HISTORY OF THE UNITED STATES 35 1 

The astonishing progress made in settling the West and in devel- 
oping the resources of the whole country, in obliterating the 
ravages of war, in paying the national debt and in re-estab- 
lishing a sound financial system are all illustrated during that 
time. 

Reconstruction, reorganization, and expansion : Lincoln's Re- 
construction policy, Johnson attempts to follow it out, the at- 
titude of several southern states toward the negro confirms 
Congress in another policy, ineffectiveness of the President's 
vetoes, attack of Congress on the President's powers, Tenure- 
of-Office bill, Reconstruction Act, Carpet Baggers in the South, 
impeachment of Johnson, thirteenth, fourteenth, and fifteenth 
amendments. 

Methods of paying the national debt, resumption of specie 
payments, completion of the Pacific Railroad ; treaty of Wash- 
ington and the Alabama Claims ; Tweed Ring ; Greeley cam- 
paign ; disputed election of 1876, how Hayes was "counted 
in ; ' ; Hayes refuses to support the Carpet Bag governments in 
the South, end of Reconstruction. 1 

List of dates : — 

1781. Adoption of the Articles of Confederation. 

1787. Constitutional Convention at Philadelphia. 

1789. Organization of the new government. 

1803. Purchase of Louisiana. 

1807. The beginning of the Embargo. 

1812. Opening of the second war with England. 

1820. Missouri Compromise. 

1823. Declaration by Monroe of the "Doctrine " called by 

his name. 

1830. Webster-Hayne debate. 

1837. Great panic. 

1846. Mexican War begins. 

1850. Compromise on the slavery question. 

1854. Kansas-Nebraska Act. 

1857. Dred Scott Decision. 
1861. April 14, Fort Sumter attacked; its surrender. 



1 Additional references : Pierce's Sumner, McPherson's History of 
Reconstruction, Dunning's Essays, Taylor's Destruction and Reconstruction, 
Herbert's Why the Solid South, Cable's The Silent South, Pike's The 
Prostrate State, Burgess' Reconstrtiction and the Constitution. 



352 HISTORY OF THE UNITED STATES 

1 86 1. July 21, First battle of Bull Run. 

1862. March 9, Battle of the Monitor and the Merrimac. 

1863. January 1, Emancipation Proclamation. 
July 3, Last day of fighting at Gettysburg. 
July 4, Surrender of Vicksburg. 

1864. May 4, Beginning of the Wilderness and Atlanta 

campaigns. 

1865. April 9, Surrender of Lee at Appomattox. 
April 14, Murder of Lincoln. 

1867. Reconstruction. 

1869. Completion of the Pacific Railroads. 

1876. Exposition at Philadelphia. 

1879. Resumption of Specie Payments. 



CHAPTER XIX 

THE COURSE OE STUDY EST THE ELEMENTARY SCHOOL 

It must be left to the teacher to adapt the matter explained 
in the chapters on the Course of Study to the needs and the 
capacity of the pupil in the elementary school. A few sugges- 
tions may be offered in the hope of facilitating this work. 

According to the scheme already set forth, the more formal 

work in history should begin with the fifth grade. What is 

done in the lower grades cannot strictly be termed . 

. 11' First Steps, 

historical work, although the stories that are told in 

connection with great anniversaries or that are used in the exer- 
cises in language prepare the way for the later study of history. 
In discussing such preliminary work, Professor Mace has dis- 
tinguished between a "sense" phase and a "representative" 
phase. In the first, the child is brought into actual contact 
with many things, and the results of this experience furnish the 
material which is used by his imagination in the second phase 
in constructing pictures of events which are merely described 
to him. 1 It is true that nothing can appear in the imagination 
the elements of which have not previously appeared in expe- 
rience, but it is not necessary to conclude from this that the 
work with the child should be chiefly along lines suggested 
by the character of his every-day experiences. Very early in 

1 Professor Mace outlines the object of the work at this stage as follows: 
"i. On the side of discipline: (a) the primary object is to confer the 
habit of judging men's thoughts and feelings through their acts ; (b) a 
secondary end is to give the mind the habit of careful observation — 
the habit of finding truth in objects present to the senses. 2. On the side 
of knowledge : (a) the primary object is to give the mind material out of 
which the imagination may construct pictures of historical events ; (b) the 
secondary purpose, or rather result, is to give a more thorough knowl- 
edge of local institutions." Method hi History, 258. 

23 



354 STUDY IN THE ELEMENTARY SCHOOL 

life he has accumulated enough sense material to enable him 
to construct wonderful compounds. The creatures that in- 
habit his world of fancy bear little resemblance to the persons 
with whom he ordinarily associates. He may take an awful 
delight in hearing of the cruelties of the wicked step-mother 
without ever having seen the less dreaded reality. Consequently 
the teacher may early introduce him into the realm of legend and 
story, confident that the result will eventually be a broadening 
and enrichment of his conception of the world. Even if he 
does not at first understand the story, it is still serviceable. 
Every one is familiar with the relish children have for strange, 
large words. They often get hold of a word, gradually learn 
how to use it, and only later are able to fill it with approx- 
imately its complete significance. Stories may similarly serve as 
a framework into which may be set the results of experience. 

It is necessary that these stories be selected with a definite 
object in view. Not every one that the child is ready to hear 

is worth telling or free from harmful tendencies. 
Stories. . 

Dr. Oppenheim remarks : " With most teachers 

the principal test of a story is whether it holds the child's atten- 
tion. This test is plainly a fallacious one, for there is, as a rule, 
but little reliance to be put upon a child's natural taste. There 
is no more reason why he should know what is best for his 
intellectual welfare than that he should spontaneously recognise 
which is his most advantageous food." 1 

There are two principal considerations which should control 



1 He continues : " Just as when an infant, he puts everything he can 
grasp into his mouth, so later he will show a keen interest in all manner 
of narrative, without any distinction of whether it is good or bad. Thus 
he will listen with absorbed attention to ghost stories, which haunt him 
for nights ; he may like stories embodying unfavourable traits of char- 
acter, as well as those which illustrate virtues. The main thing which he 
wants is that the story must show movement, action . . . One of his 
weakest spots lies in his rudimentary selective faculty." He adds: 
" Instead of making the ascent from preparatory existence to real life as 
plain, gradual, and safe as possible, they (the stories) evidently seek to 
encumber it, to make it steep and inaccessible." Nathan Oppenheim, 
The Development of the Child, pp. 104-105. 



STUDY IN THE ELEMENTARY SCHOOL 355 

the selection of stories. One is their probable moral effect. 
By this is intended the tone or tendency of the story rather 
than any obvious aim to inculcate a definite moral truth. The 
other is their value in supplementing the child's narrow expe- 
rience and in introducing hkn into the world of the present and 
of the past. If when he begins to study history more system- 
atically, he is constantly meeting that which has long been the 
familiar companion of his thoughts, stories of Greek heroes, of 
brave Romans, tales of chivalry, stories of adventure on the 
sea or in the American forests, his work will be impelled by that 
force which comes from an already existent interest. While 
his knowledge of the world is increased, he is gaining a vocabu- 
lary, that is to say, the tools with which he is to work. The 
teacher should aim systematically to accomplish such results. 1 

The work of the fifth grade constitutes one step in advance. 
The pupil attempts to put together what he has learned of the 

history of his own country, not only what he has 

J :> j Fifth Grade, 

learned through the story in school, but also what 

he has heard at home or on the street. He is to make of all 
this a fairly consecutive account of the American people. 
Such work will necessarily be biographical and descriptive, but 
it will none the less teach him to conceive of the experience 
of the people as a whole, and prepare his mind to apply the 
same method to the history of other peoples, and in this way 
rise to the conception of the history of mankind. 

According to the plan outlined in the chapter on the Pro- 
gramme, the pupils in the sixth grade are to go over the fields 

of ancient and mediaeval history in much the same _ 

J . Sixth Grade. 

way as in the fifth grade they go over American his- 
tory. They are at this time obtaining their first knowledge of 
Europe and Asia. They are also just beginning to realize the 
lapse of time. Their imaginative power is feeble, although 
their fancy contains a wealth kaleidoscopic in its profusion. 



1 List of books for supplementary reading which contain valuable 
story material will be found in the Report of Committee on the Relations 
of Public Libraries to Public Schools, 12-18, 33-39; Mace, 309-311. 



356 STUDY IN THE ELEMENTARY SCHOOL 

They may approach the subject in two ways. Their minds 
may be slowly led back to the period of the discoveries and even 
as far as Greece and Rome by a search for the sources of the 
customs, traditions, and laws which the settlers brought with 
them. Or the same result may be reached by beginning at the 
other end with the simple figures of the Greek imagination and 
with the picturesque forms of ancient life, and by leading the 
child down step by step, principally through his natural interest 
in heroic men and great deeds, to the time when the inheritors 
of all this past sailed across the Atlantic to found new homes. 1 
The aim of the work should be to make this heritage intelli- 
gible and to cultivate the interest the pupils already possess in 

such things. A great body of knowledge cannot be 

accumulated. The teacher should be content with 
impressions, with an increase in the familiarity which the chil- 
dren find in certain great names and famous incidents, with 
the acquisition of an outline or framework into which later 
knowledge may be fitted. 

The ordinary practice of the schools forbids the use of a text- 
book for pupils of this age. The teaching should be oral, with 
supplementary readings from books. Since young children 
suffer from a poverty of words and phrases in which to express 
themselves properly, the teacher must train them adequately to 
describe the incidents that form the subject of their work. 

Although the facts must be chiefly biographical, they do not 
derive their value from the light they throw on the career of 

individual men, but from their illustrative effect. 

History is not made up of biographical tales, but 
most of the greater events within reach of the child's imagina- 



1 In Germany the new Prussian programme after a year of elementary 
German history goes back to the legends of Greece and Rome, and then 
in the third year to a chronological treatment beginning with Greece. 
"The Jena program of the work for the first two classes differs from the 
Prussian syllabus in that comparatively little attention is given to clas- 
sical mythology" and that "the entire time of Quinta is devoted to a 
systematic description of the chief events in German history." Russell, 
299. 



STUDY IN THE ELEMENTARY SCHOOL 357 

tion have been the work of men who are commonly called 
heroes. 

History is always closely connected with geography, but no- 
where can this relation be more wisely insisted upon than in the 

work of the elementary school Unfortunately it is 

Geography, 
not customary to combine these two kinds of work 

in one scheme of study, although this is attempted in a few 

schools. 1 

It is advisable that each group of topics leave upon the 
pupil's mind an impression of that which chiefly characterized 
the age which it summarizes. Those that refer to 
Egypt, to the cities of the Tigris-Euphrates valley, 
and to Phoenicia should bring out the notion of antiquity, of the 
beginnings of civilization, while those that refer to Greece 
should emphasize the spirit of independence, courage, delight 
in life, the love of beauty, and those that refer to Rome the 
spirit of conquest, the capacity for organization, for law and 
for government. The Middle Ages less readily lead to such a 
unity of impression, although feudalism gives rise to chivalry and 
the church enforces the notion of brotherhood and insists on 
the supremacy of moral obligations. Such an attempt at char- 
acterization should not be carried too far ; its only object is to 
show certain thoughts which should be in the teacher's mind in 
managing the material, so that there may be some definiteness 
in the impressions finally left in the minds of the children. 

Since the pupils in their language study have already been 
taught some of the old Greek stories, it may be well to begin 
with a more systematic treatment of a few of these, The Begill . 
together with some characteristic tales from Homer. ^^ 
There are other reasons for going straight back to Egypt. If 
the lesson is well managed, any child will grasp the essential 



1 In Indianapolis history and geography are grouped together. As 
soon as the pupil takes up the study of Eurasia he begins to read 
Andrews' Ten Boys, and afterwards begins the systematic study of gen- 
eral history. Indianapolis Public Schools : Course of Study in Geog- 
raphy and History for Grades 1-8 inclusive, 1899. Outline for Grade 
6 A, by Lydia R. Blaich, 1900. 



353 STUDY IN THE ELEMENTARY SCHOOL 

facts of Egyptian life. The subject may be approached natur- 
ally through an imaginary voyage across the Atlantic into the 
Mediterranean. An advertisement of a winter cruise of the 
Prinzessin-Louise would be effective. After the children have 
been carried to Alexandria, it will be easy for them to leap over 
the centuries that separate modern from ancient Egypt. There 
should be a good map on the wall, and a globe, the larger the 
better, in sight of the pupils. They must keep close to earth 
all the while. They should first study the Nile, see where it 
comes from, understand its annual overflow, and the part this 
plays in the fortunes of the country. The story of Joseph 
would emphasize this. Pictures of the pyramids should next 
take their attention. As they are looking at these and hear- 
ing how they were made, they will forget the present and be- 
come deeply interested in this strange people that could spend 
so much effort on the tombs of its dead kings. The burial 
customs are naturally suggested, and from this it is easy to 
go to a description of some of their other peculiarities. A 
few pictures on the board will show the way they left records 
of their deeds. In the same manner it is possible to treat 
Assyria, Babylon, and Phoenicia. Generally speaking, all these 
peoples will seem more real to the children if they can each be 
connected with familiar stories from the Bible. 

Greek history should be simplified by leaving out all formal 
teaching of constitutional development or political schemes, 
Greek anc * directing attention to the manner in which, the 

History. Greeks lived, to their festivals and their shrines, il- 

lustrating everything, so far as this is possible, with pictures of 
scenes in Greece and of the ruins of Greek buildings. The 
heroic struggle of the Greeks against the Persians can be dealt 
with in more detail, especially the battles of Thermopylae and 
Salamis, if the pupils are told how the Greeks and Persians 
were armed, what was their manner of fighting, and what sort 
of ships they had. Not much can be done with so important a 
phase of Athenian history as the Delian League. It is best to 
fill in the period between the Persian and the Peloponnesian 



STUDY IN THE ELEMENTARY SCHOOL 359 

Wars with tales of Pausanias, Themistocles and Cimon, and with 
descriptions of the beauty of Athens, and of the daily life of the 
Athenians in the Age of Pericles. Only the most striking 
scenes of the Peloponnesian War should be related, like the 
siege of Platea and the destruction of the expedition against 
Syracuse. Alexander's career should be followed on the map 
step by step. The pupils should also be told of the Greek 
cities founded by Alexander and his successors, as well as of 
the progress in knowledge, particularly at Alexandria, in regard 
to the shape and size of the earth. 

The history of Rome furnishes an even better opportunity to 
study the geography of the Mediterranean world. A connec- 
tion should be made with Greek history by asking Roman 
what the Romans were doing at the time the battle Hist ory. 
of Marathon was fought and when Alexander set out on 
his expedition against the Persians. The pupil's interest may 
be stimulated by showing him pictures of the ruins of the 
Forum, the Arch of Titus, the Coliseum, the remains of the 
aqueducts in the Campagna. They are in such contrast to 
the present buildings of the city that they make a strong appeal 
to the past. 

As in the case of Greece, there can be little attempt to make 
clear the growth of the Roman constitution. Emphasis must 
be placed on the life of the Romans, the classes into which 
they were divided, their class jealousies, how they gradually con- 
quered Italy and the Mediterranean world, and how they ruled 
it. The war with Hannibal may be described in detail, for it 
is as interesting to children as the wars of the Greeks and the 
Persians. In explaining the early Roman Empire the pupils 
should be shown that the early emperors were not like modern 
emperors, but were citizens of Rome, who held important 
offices, and who at the same time were given extraordinary 
powers. Even if they do not altogether understand the matter, 
they will be kept from later reaching the wrong attitude popu- 
larly taken toward this subject. 

Only a few of the emperors should be described, — Augus- 



360 STUDY IN THE ELEMENTARY SCHOOL 

tus, Nero, Titus, Marcus Aurelius, Diocletian, and Constantine*, 
possibly one or two more. Attention should be directed to- 
ward the great public works, aqueducts, baths, roads, 
The Empire. & . r . 

and bridges, to the fortified frontier, to the con- 
dition of the people both in the second century and in the 
fourth century, to the splendid court which gradually grew up 
after the reforms of Diocletian. 

In the Middle Ages almost every phase is embodied in the 
lives of great men, — the Barbarian invasions in Alaric, Attila, 

Clovis, and Theodoric, the later emperors in Jus- 
Middle Ages. . . , , . T , . . 

timan, the churchmen in Jerome and Augustine, 

monasticism in Anthony, Benedict, Bede, and the missionary 
Boniface, the papacy in Leo and Gregory, Mohammedanism in 
Mohammed, and so on down to the end. If the teacher com- 
bines accounts of such men with descriptions of mediaeval life, 
— the manor and the village communities, the knights and their 
castles, the new towns, the maritime cities, Venice, Genoa, 
Bruges, London, the fairs, — this will constitute the material 
chiefly to be used. Some description must also be given of the 
great mediaeval wars, the Norman Conquest, the Crusades, the 
conflict between John and Philip Augustus, the Hundred Years 
War, but all much simplified. It is better to leave an incom- 
plete picture in the minds of young children than to crush 
them under the weight of matter. 

Toward the end of the Middle Ages greater emphasis should 
be laid on those things more directly related to the character of 
modern life and to the customs and traditions which the found- 
ers of America brought with them. As in the secondary school, 
it would be well to bring this work to an end in the middle of 
the sixteenth century, with the break up of the mediaeval 
church through the success of the Lutheran, English, and 
French reform movements. 

In presenting to pupils of the seventh grade the matter con- 
Seventh tained in the chapter on the Founding of America, 
Grade. th e problem is not confused by the fact that differ- 
ent schools assign this time to various subjects, for the great 



STUDY IN THE ELEMENTARY SCHOOL 361 

majority give the history of the colonies in the seventh grade 
and the history of the Union in the eighth. To follow the plan 
already explained involves no violent break with common prac- 
tice. Nor is the lack of a text-book constructed from the 
broader standpoint so great an obstacle. As the teacher has 
been trained to present the subject orally in the grades below 
the seventh, he should be able to supplement the text-book in 
American history commonly begun in this grade. 

Although the course has the same limits as that suggested for 
the secondary school, there should be a more careful restriction 
of attention, so far as Europe is concerned, to only those 
phases of its history which are necessary for a comprehension 
of American history. 

From the sixth grade work the pupil has gained some notion 

of the countries that were to have a share in the founding of 

America, especially Spain and Portugal, whose history had been 

a continuous crusade against the infidel. Such 

■, 1 , .7 , , • r 1 Introduction, 

knowledge as the pupils have can be reinforced 

during a geographical survey of that part of Europe which was 

to undertake the work of discovery and settlement. In making 

this preliminary survey, they may follow, as in the study of 

commercial geography, the sailors of Venice and Genoa and 

those of northern Europe on their voyages, learning the goods 

they purchased and the markets to which they carried them. 

They may also learn how navigation had been improved and 

what remained of the mediaeval tales of the terrors of the sea 

which deterred mariners from becoming over-bold. 

As in the secondary school the study of the discoveries 
should begin with the work of the Portuguese, and it should be 
largely a study of the geography of Africa and the islands south- 
west of Portugal. 

The story of Columbus' earlier life should be told in greater 
detail, for the elementary pupil is less interested in the higher 

aspects of the subject. In all the work with Colum- „ , 

J . Columtms. 

bus, knowledge should come rather as the inciden- 
tal result than as the object to which the attention is chiefly 



362 STUDY IN THE ELEMENTARY SCHOOL 

directed. Nearly all the work can be laid down on outline 
maps, so that the knowledge of geography will grow with the 
increase in historical knowledge. After the voyages of Colum- 
bus have been studied in this way, the pupil should learn where 
the Portuguese had succeeded in sailing. 

The story of Cortez and Pizarro has so much that is dramatic 
that there should not be quite the same emphasis on the 
geographical facts. With De Leon and De Soto the geographi- 
cal facts are the more important. 

The manner in which the Spaniards treated the Indians 
should be explained, together with the simpler facts of their 
system of managing the settlements. While the pupils could 
easily understand how the Spaniards carefully restricted emi- 
gration, how all goods and persons had to set out from the port 
of Seville, and later Cadiz, they could not understand the rela- 
tion of the viceroy and the audiencia. 

The events which precede the English, Dutch, and French 
settlements are difficult to treat because they embody less of the 
English simple experiences of adventure and war, and more 

Colonizers. f those higher struggles, conflicts of opinion, na- 
tional rivalries, a complex of incident covering the whole field 
of western Europe. It is evident that the pupil cannot follow 
the development of the drama outlined in the work for the 
secondary school. He can become familiar with a few distin- 
guishing events, and may receive impressions of what England, 
Holland, and France were when the earliest settlements were 
made. The more general facts which he should understand 
are that England was growing strong on the sea, that the first 
English settlements owed their success to the desire of the Puri- 
tans and the Separatists to escape from the control of their 
enemies in the church, 1 that the Dutch came out of their fight 



1 The subject may be approached as follows : Note that a few years 
before Elizabeth came to the throne Englishmen had been compelled to 
believe and worship much as the Episcopalians do at the present time, 
that they were then ordered by Mary to restore the religion as it had 
existed in England before the Reformation and much like the Catholic 



STUDY IN THE ELEMENTARY SCHOOL 363 

with Spain the greatest sailors of the day, and that the French, 
as a result of their religious wars and because their monarchy 
was becoming absolute, were likely to found decidedly Catholic 
settlements, and were not likely to grant any rights of self- 
government. 

The story of Mary Stuart should be told because she is so 
famous, and because it explains one of the causes of the enmity 
between the ordinary Elizabethan Englishman and Elizabethan 
the Catholics and the Spaniards. The movement England, 
of the drama may be simplified by keeping closely to Mary's 
career until she takes refuge in England, when it is necessary to 
put together the elements of the situation, — the papal excom- 
munication, Philip's relation to the plots against Elizabeth and 
in favour of Mary, Parliament's severe measures against the 
Recusants, as allies of the Pope. The Armada appears as one 
of the consequences of Mary's execution. The pupils are 
ready to understand the English victory because they have 
already studied about the English seamen. 

After England has been explained, Holland may be taken 
up. The story of the struggle of the Netherlanders is full of 
incidents of surpassing interest, so that there will be no difficulty 
in dealing with it. 

religion of the present day, and that when Elizabeth began to reign, she 
tried to satisfy both parties somewhat, although like her father she in- 
sisted that she had a right to manage such matters and that the pope 
could not interfere. Accordingly, she arranged just how church services 
should be conducted, how the clergy should be robed, and often what 
sermons they should preach. Everybody was obliged to attend these 
services. Some would not take the oath acknowledging that Elizabeth 
had the right to manage the church ; these were called Recusants or 
refusers. Others did not like to see the bishops and the clergy wearing 
the surplice, or the services conducted according to the forms established 
in the Prayer Book, and did want more preaching ; these were called the 
Puritans. By and by some Puritans would not put up with the way 
things were done, and came to think that the true believers should 
have the right to manage church affairs themselves and not merely do 
the Queen's or the bishop's pleasure ; these separated themselves from 
the church, and were called Separatists, or Independents, later Congre- 
gationalists. Note that the Puritans that stayed in the church were to 
found Boston, and that the Separatists were to found Plymouth. 



364 STUDY IN THE ELEMENTARY SCHOOL 

In treating the period from 1603 to 1640 and from 1640 to 
1660, the arrangement of the matter suggested for the second- 
Puritan ar y school may be followed, but the results must be 
Period. reached by using illustrative incidents and stories 
of individual men. As soon as the pupil touches American 
soil and begins to meet familiar names of men or of places, his 
interest increases, because every new bit of knowledge may 
have a relation to what he already possesses. It is the Euro- 
pean part of the story, therefore, that must be prepared with the 
greater care. If the pupils have understood the views of the 
Puritans, they will appreciate the effect upon them of King 
James's threat at the Hampton Court Conference to "harry 
them out of the country, or worse, if they did not conform." 
They will also understand the oppression which drew certain 
desperate Recusants to concoct the Gunpowder Plot. Another 
question concerned the right of the king to levy or raise the 
customs or import duties without consulting Parliament. The 
attitude of James and of Charles upon taxation and religion 
explain the settlement of New England until 1640, and should 
be made as clear as possible. 

It makes little difference in what order the settlements in 
America are studied ; Virginia first, or New England first. 
Colonies in The Puritan settlements naturally follow a con- 
America, sideration of the troubles in England, and Virginia 
has less connection with the conflicts in England. The story 
of Jamestown, of Plymouth, of Massachusetts Bay, should be 
told with detail, because these were the first settlements, and 
the pictures of them in the child's mind should be well defined. 
The manners, customs, and organization of the Indians may be 
described more at length than is necessary in the secondary 
school. After the other early settlements are examined, there 
should be a study of the Dutch in the valley of the Hudson 
and of the French on the St. Lawrence. 1 When this is com- 

1 As the elementary school pupil is unable to keep a complex situa- 
tion for a long time before his mind;, it seems best not to attempt to pre- 
serve the more strictly historical development worked out for this period 
in Chapter XVII. 



STUDY IN THE ELEMENTARY SCHOOL 365 

pleted, it is well to make a simple outline of the rights and 
privileges of the early English colonies in comparison with 
those possessed by the Dutch, the French, and also by the 
Spanish. Such a comparison will result, unconsciously for the 
pupil, in a more intelligent attitude toward the English system 
of dealing with colonies. 

After the Puritan Revolution and a brief treatment of the 
events which led to the triumph of Parliament in 1689, atten- 
tion should be turned more to life in the American colonies 
than was the case in the plan for the secondary school. The 
rivalry of England and France must, however, be kept clearly 
in mind, and the threatening development of the French power 
in the Mississippi valley. 

It is hardly necessary to suggest the modifications which should 
be made in presenting American history itself. From long experi- 
ence teachers have learned what can be done with pupils in the 
last year of the grammar school. While the more difficult ques- 
tions of politics and public policy must be omitted, it is possible 
to make clear the line of development of the Republic and its 
relations with other countries. The pupils should never be 
allowed to forget that America is the child of European civiliza- 
tion, that it received a great heritage of laws and traditions, and 
that its own life is unintelligible save as it appears in its place 
in the history of the world. 



CHAPTER XX 

THE TEACHING OF CIVICS 
BIBLIOGRAPHY. 

Bryce, James. The American Commonwealth. London and New 
York, Macmillan. 

Cooley, T. M. The Principles of Constitutional Law. Boston, Little, 
Brown & Co. 

Fiske, John. Civil Government in the United States. Boston, 
Houghton, Mifflin & Co. 

Goodnow, Prank G. Politics and Administration. New York and 
London, Macmillan. 

Lowell, A. L. Governments and Parties in Continental Europe. 
2 vols. Boston, Houghton, Mifflin & Co. 

Macy, Jesse. The English Constitution. London and New York, 
Macmillan. 

Tocqueville, A. de. Democracy in America. London and New 
York, Longmans, Green & Co. 

"Wilson, Woodrow. The State: Elements of Historical and Prac- 
tical Politics. Boston, D. C. Heath & Co. 

In Chapter VI. it was urged that while instruction in the 
mechanism of government did not go far toward fitting a boy 
The Practi- effectively to perform his duties as a citizen it did 
calAim. reveal to him one phase of the life of man in 

society, and so, like history, had great indirect value. If this be 
true the course in civics will chiefly be helpful in creating the 
foundation of knowledge upon which good citizenship may rest, 
provided the pupil has a sound character and becomes public- 
spirited. Good government is impossible unless there is in the 
community an active public sentiment and one that is intelli- 
gently directed. Many abuses go on unchecked simply be- 
cause the citizens are unaware of their existence, and even if 
they are vaguely conscious of evils, they do not understand 



THE TEACHING OF CIVICS 367 

where to look to discover the nature and the causes of these 
evils. Civics as it is sometimes taught is of no use in such a 
search, because it explains merely how the government is organ- 
ized, and has little to say about the conditions which make 
wise administration probable. It is too much to ask of either 
elementary or secondary school pupils that they look far into 
such matters ; but they should be taught how to look, so that 
when they are old enough to be stimulated by deeper interests 
they may not gaze helplessly about. Political intelligence is 
therefore, quite as much as mere knowledge, the aim of the 
formal work in civil government. 

Since the majority of the voting population must obtain 
instruction in civics in the elementary school, if at all, the 
more thorough, formal teaching of the subject can- Below the 
not be reserved to the secondary school, although High School, 
it will be easier to deal with certain phases of it with the more 
mature pupils. 1 

The formal course should not come until the course in 
American history is either finished or at least well begun, other- 
wise the study will become merely descriptive and lose much 
of its value. Incidental instruction in civics may be given from 
the beginning of the child's work. There are two principal 
methods of correlating this preliminary instruction. Some 
teachers combine it with the elementary study of morals, others 
with geography. These methods are not mutually exclusive. 2 

1 See also Chapter VI. 

2 See p. 103 for a resume of the three methods. The Committee of 
Twelve on Rural Schools prepared a scheme based on the course of 
moral instruction in France. Civics, strictly speaking, does not appear 
until Group III. or IV., when the pupils are from nine to thirteen years 
old. For Group II. (7-9 years) the recommendation is, " Familiar con- 
versations and kind individual counsel when needed. Simple stories, 
parables, fables, treated with reference to ideas of right and wrong. 
Practical exercises tending to arouse the moral sense of the class, by 
methods of school discipline, by often making the pupil the judge of his 
own conduct, by training the pupil to draw the appropriate lessons from 
facts observed by himself." For Group III. (9-1 1 years) the same method 
is pursued, with the addition that "passages from history and literature 
are treated from the point of view of right and wrong/' and this work is 



368 THE TEACHING OF CIVICS 

This earlier work in civics has a double relation. It fur- 
nishes information about local government and also trains the 



to be so arranged as to bring out in detail the duties of the individual 
toward the members of the family, the community, the state, etc. 

In the Course of Study provided for the schools of Cleveland there is 
a similar scheme of work. For the first grade the provision reads, " Con- 
duct and Morals should be taught incidentally in connection with all 
school exercises. But this instruction is to be reinforced by direct les- 
sons on morals, manners, and government. These lessons are to be 
based on the stories or fables read or told to children, or on concrete 
examples found in every-day life, in anecdotes of biography, in poems 
and maxims. Government should be taught in the lower grades by 
means of concrete examples only." In the second grade government 
is more emphasized : " Suggest the idea of government and its necessity 
in the community of the school, by referring to school regulations ; such 
as assembly bells, tardy bells, recesses, etc., and give reasons for estab- 
lishing them." " Name of the teacher ; the Principal of the School ; of 
the Superintendent and the Director." "The Letter Carrier and his 
work. Letter boxes, location of one or two; uses; how to put a letter 
in." All this is accompanied by various readings. In the third grade 
there is a study of certain higher virtues and of government as illustrated 
in the functions of the School Council. In the fourth grade the City 
Directors furnish the object of study. In the Hartford Course of Study 
the relations of government and geography are more distinctly empha- 
sized. The provision for the third grade is : *' Have pupils locate and 
name the public property in Hartford, such as state-house, post-office, 
arsenal, court-house, jail, halls of record, city hall, almshouse, and 
schoolhouse, and tell to which of the political divisions each one of these 
buildings belongs. Have familiar talks with the children concerning the 
necessity of government. Illustrate by making comparisons of the gov- 
ernment of the family, playground, and school with that of the state." 
See further, Chapter VI. p. 103, upon the way this is worked out in the up- 
per grades. In Buffalo there is a similar solution of the problem. The 
provision for the third grade reads: "The meaning of government, its 
necessity and uses, should be developed. In connection with the geog- 
raphy of Buffalo, the word Mayor should be explained and his name 
given. The necessity for money to carry on the government should be 
shown. How are the public schools supported? the fire department? 
the police ? Why, then, do we pay taxes ? " In the next grade in con- 
nection with the geography of Erie County there is to be shown " the 
necessity for good government, that is, good management, of a village 
or a city, in order that it may be clean, healthful, and beautiful, and how 
this is related to water, pavements, sewers, parks, etc., and the wicked- 
ness of squandering the people's money by bad work." In the fifth grade 
foreign geography is to be taken up, and there is to be an incidental 
study of the different kinds of government, together with an amplifica- 



THE TEACHING OF CIVICS 3^9 

pupil to think of those associations and activities of men which 
he is to meet constantly in his study of history. To use 
Professor Mace's phrase, it offers him " sense material," with 
the aid of which he will later be able to picture to him- 
self things that are merely described to him or of which he 
reads. 

It has already been explained that the relations of history 
and civics are very close. The teacher must take practical 
advantage of this, and draw upon history for illustra- History as 
tions of the facts of civics which he is endeavour- a Help. 
ing to make clear. Civics will, therefore, be more effectively 
taught where the pupils have had a long course of instruc- 
tion in history, so that the range of illustrative matter is 
large. 

Such a use of history implies comparisons of the local and 
national governments in the United States with other govern- 
ments, particularly those of England and the coun- comparative 
tries of Europe. From these comparisons the P olitics * 
pupil must conclude that mechanism of government is after all 
a device, and that different and equally intelligent peoples may, 
partly as a result of their history and partly as a result of their 
temperament, do things differently. For example, the Italian 
Parliament frequently formulates the principle of some new 
piece of legislation, and permits the government to work out 
the details without submitting these for approval. 1 Such defer- 
ence to the executive would be impossible in America, where 
Congress is anxious to exercise all its prerogatives, and occa- 
sionally attempts to do the work of the president also. It is 
only by such comparisons that the real character of many 
features of our system of government may be made clear. 
This work is difficult, even for the older pupils, and conse- 



tion of the functions of the city and state along the lines indicated for 
the fourth grade. There is in this whole scheme great emphasis laid 
upon taxation, and the necessity of an honest and wise expenditure of 
such money. 

1 Lowell, Governments and Parties in Continental Europe, I. 165-166. 

24 



3/0 THE TEACHING OF CIVICS 

quently it cannot be attempted, except in an elementary form, 
with younger ones. 

The need of training pupils to do such work intelligently is 
apparent from the grossly absurd comparisons which are popu- 
larly instituted and which are accepted in good faith by multi- 
tudes. It is one of the commonplaces of political oratory to 
contrast the governments of England and America as a mon- 
archy and a republic. The contrast is misleading because the 
word monarchy carries in it implications which are not true of 
the English government. In some respects the English system 
is more democratic than our own. Parliament is more sensi- 
tive to public opinion than is Congress, for members of Parlia- 
ment may at any time be compelled to stand for re-election, 
while a congressman once elected remains in office for a stated 
term, and so is in a measure independent of his constituents. 

If civics is to promote political intelligence, the details of 
the course must be existing political conditions. These are 
Object Actual on ty m P art tne mechanism of government. They 
Conditions. are largely the actual way in which this mechanism 
is used by the people and by their officials. The pupil should 
not receive the impression that salvation lies through changes 
in charters and constitutions. More than one city with a model 
charter has a corrupt and inefficient administration because 
honest and capable men are not chosen to office. There are 
also unwritten laws which must be respected as much as the 
constitutions themselves ; indeed, as the English judges told 
Charles I., " every law, after it is made, hath its exposition . . . 
which is left to the courts to determine." And it is not the 
courts alone that determine what this exposition shall be, for 
public sentiment often governs the decision of the courts in all 
matters which lie outside the realm of technical law. Conse- 
quently, if a people is capable of political development its 
fundamental law must also change, sometimes by amendment, 
but oftener by interpretation or by a process of accretion in 
which the new is not clearly distinct from the old, but simply 
gives it another tendency or character. These more subtle 



THE TEACHING OF CIVICS 371 

changes belong to the subject quite as much as the formal pro- 
visions of constitutions or charters. 1 

If in teaching civics the attempt is made to look at matters 
in their actual relations, carefully emphasizing their relative 
importance, it is necessary to start out with the Local Gov- 
distinction between local and national government, eminent. 
The latter is surrounded in the public mind with more dignity, 
and yet for the individual it is, in a sense, of less importance 
than the state government. If a citizen were to count the acts 
of government which affect his interests, protecting his prop- 
erty, guaranteeing his family relations, guarding him against 
ordinary dangers, he would find that the state or local govern- 
ment touches him twenty times where the national government 
touches him once. Professor Woodrow Wilson puts the matter 
in this way: "All the civil and religious rights of our citizens 
depend upon state legislation ; the education of the people is 
in the care of the states ; with them rests the regulation of the 
suffrage ; they prescribe the rules of marriage, the legal relations 
of husband and wife, of parent and child ; they determine the 
powers of masters over servants and the whole law of principal 
and agent, which is so vital a matter in business transactions ; 
they regulate partnership, debt and credit, insurance ; they con- 
stitute all corporations, both private and municipal, except such 
as fulfil the financial or other specific functions of the federal 
government ; they control the possession, distribution, and use 
of property, the exercise of trades, and all contract relations ; 
and they formulate and administer all criminal law, except only 



1 Professor Woodrow Wilson says : " It is one of the distinguishing 
characteristics of the English race whose political habit has been trans- 
mitted to us through the sagacious generation by whom this government 
was erected that they have never felt themselves bound by the logic of 
laws, but only by a practical understanding of them based upon slow 
precedent. For this race the law under which they live is at any par- 
ticular time what it is then tmderstood to be ; and this understanding of it 
is compounded of the circumstances of the case. . . . Their laws have 
always been used as parts of the practical running machinery of their 
politics, — parts to be fitted from time to time, by interpretation, to 
existing opinion and social condition." — Th e State, 476-477. 



37 2 THE TEACHING OF CIVICS 

that which concerns crimes against the United States, on the 
high seas, or against the law of nations." 

Although the state is in this way the guardian of the indi- 
vidual, the ongoing of his daily life is also immediately affected 
importance by institutions which, created by the state, are nev- 
of the City, ertheless in a measure independent of it. The 
chief of these is the city, which with the rapid increase of popu- 
lation, the growth of corporate wealth, and the extension by 
charter of municipal functions, has already become one of the 
most important elements in the political situation. The pupil 
should realize how dependent he is upon both city and state. 
This should lead to a greater emphasis upon state and particu- 
larly upon city " patriotism." Such sentiments are now no 
longer in danger of checking loyalty to the nation or of lessen- 
ing fidelity in the performance of national duties. 

With older pupils it will be instructive to compare the dis- 
tribution of power between the national and the local govern- 
ments in America and in France. From such a comparison 
must come the conviction that in the vitality and strength of 
our local institutions lies the political stability of America. 
Every revolution that France has had since 1789 has been 
largely if not wholly determined by the action of one city. 
This is less true of the first Revolution than of those which 
followed, and which in most instances were merely changes more 
or less radical in the machinery of the central administration. 
France is like a pyramid standing on its apex. America rests 
secure upon the broad base of forty-five states. 

The pupils may be asked why France is so highly centralized 
while the United States is still a federation of partially independ- 
Centrali- ent states ? To answer such a question they must 

zation. recur to their study of history. France has such 

natural boundaries that inevitably the people throughout its 
limits have come to show similar and highly individualized 
traits of character. Throughout their history they have been 
thrown back upon one another in many a series of conflicts 
with their neighbours, so that the unifying effects which we 



THE TEACHING OF CIVICS 373 

have felt during the Revolution, during the War of 181 2, and 
during the Civil War have been experienced a hundred times. 
Local privileges, even local liberties, have been sacrificed to 
make the nation strong against its enemies. The United States 
has been more fortunate. As soon as it reached its natural 
boundaries it found oceans protecting it on the east and on the 
west, while to the north and the south it was impossible for 
powers to arise that would so threaten its existence as to make 
consolidation imperative. Nevertheless there are forces which 
tend to break down the separateness of the states and which 
are slowly working the changes hastened by war. These are 
included in that vast organization of industry which ignores 
state boundary lines, and which for this reason brings the na- 
tional government more actively into play in every part of the 
Union. The action of the courts in the case of strikes, what is 
called "government by injunction," is one illustration of this. 
The teacher cannot make such tendencies clear to young 
pupils, but he can because of them endeavour to stimulate the 
pupil's pride in his state so that this may some day become 
watchful against unnecessary encroachments of the federal 
authority. 

In studying local government outside the cities it is well to 
show that there are several systems, — the township in New 
England, the hundred in Delaware and Maryland, Towns, 
the county and the parish in the South, and that Counties, 
with the movement westward there have come into being various 
combinations of these systems in the western states. Such 
knowledge has no direct practical value, but it serves to illus- 
trate the historical character of government in the United 
States and to counteract the impression that everything is the 
result of paper constitutions. 

In the study of city government there should be a compari- 
son between the older system of administration by separate 
boards or commissions, more or less independent cityGov . 
of one another, and the new system of concentra- ern ment. 
tion of power and responsibility in the mayor or in the mayor 



374 THE TEACHING OF CIVICS 

and a few other elective officers. This new system was a few 
years ago hailed as the token of a better day in city adminis- 
tration. Mr. Fiske said it seemed "to be a step toward lifting 
city government out of the mire of party politics." Not all 
municipal reformers are as sure of this as they were in 1890. 
It has been found that a bold mayor can use the extraordinary 
power which the system puts in his hands to build up a strong 
personal machine, and that he is able to use this in state and even 
in national politics. Although it is true, as Mr. Fiske remarked 
in the same passage, that "to elect a city magistrate because he 
is a Republican or a Democrat is about as sensible as to elect 
him because he believes in homoeopathy or has a taste for chry- 
santhemums," nevertheless, since the majority of the Democrats 
and Republicans in the cities still cling loyally to their party 
candidates, such a mayor knows that he is sure of so many 
thousand votes under all circumstances. The problem before 
him is to win enough more to defeat his rival supported by the 
independent vote. Occasionally the revolt from the party is 
large enough to overthrow him. The possibility of a tyrannical 
use of power should enforce the lesson that with so large a 
grant of authority should go a determination on the part of 
the citizens to hold the official severely responsible. In such a 
case "eternal vigilance is the price of liberty." 

In studying local government either within or without the 
city the teacher should begin with the conditions which obtain 
in the community where the school is situated and work out 
into the larger field by means of comparison and contrast. 

There are three topics of local government which should re- 
ceive special emphasis : first, the expenditure of money ; second, 
its collection ; and third, the choice of the responsible officers. 

Under expenditure is included a description of all those 
municipal activities for which money must be provided by 
Public taxation or by loans. A distinction may for con- 

Expenditure, venience be made between those expenses that are 
absolutely necessary for the protection and health of the city 
and others which are necessary in a different sense, such as 



THE TEACHING OF CIVICS 375 

parks, playgrounds, libraries, art galleries, and monuments. 
There should also be a discussion of the extent to which cities 
have engaged in enterprises, like water works, electric light or 
gas plants, street railroads, which in other cities have been left 
in private hands. It is better ordinarily to discuss what is act- 
ually done rather than argue the matter theoretically. Few 
cities have been consistent in this matter. They have done 
some things that show a socialistic tendency and others which 
seem timidly conservative. 

In connection with the subject of municipal indebtedness it 
may be pointed out that to borrow money to build a gas plant 
from which an income is expected is different from borrowing 
money to expend on unremunerative public works. Conse- 
quently in examining any city's indebtedness it is necessary to 
analyze the elements which enter into it. 

The pupils should be told how the expenditure of money is 
guarded. Even an admirable system of auditing gives little 
security against waste of money or actual stealing, unless the 
citizens understand the matter and are inclined from time to 
time to see that the system is complied with. The business of a 
city corporation is so vast that unusual precautions are necessary. 

As soon as expenditure is understood the pupils are likely to 
take a deeper interest in taxation. They realize that in order 
to carry out such large enterprises a heavy burden 
must rest upon the taxpayers, and that this cannot 
be borne unless it is placed wisely. Such a study should in- 
clude the assessment of taxes, methods of valuation, and the 
effect of taxation on different kinds of property. It would be 
well also to contrast these forms of local direct taxation with the 
indirect taxes upon which the central government relies for its 
income. 

It should now be clear to the pupils that to choose the men 

who are to have charge of these expenditures and to collect the 

taxes is a serious matter. In explaining this sub- 

Elections, 
ject the teacher should become a realist. All the 

election machinery should be studied, not merely that pro- 



376 THE TEACHING OF CIVICS 

vided by state law, but also that which rests on custom and 
party organization. This is not to furnish the teacher an 
opportunity to arraign the party bosses, large or small, but 
their existence cannot be left out of the account. The 
subject should be treated in such a way that the pupil will 
The Machine understand how his vote may be most effective in 
and the Boss, accomplishing the result he seeks. There should 
be a discussion of party machines, their value and their evils. 
It should become apparent how greatly the individual is 
strengthened the moment he unites himself with others to 
achieve a common result. The qualities by which a man be- 
comes a political boss should also be analyzed. Such men are 
generally natural leaders; they enjoy association with their 
fellows ; they are generous in some directions if not in others ; 
they are public-spirited, although not always in the highest 
sense of the word, and they actually devote time to the public 
service, if for no other reason because an official salary may be 
their only means of livelihood. In connection with this topic 
the claims which public affairs may make for more of the citi- 
zen's time should be urged. The average man spends not over 
three or four hours a year in exercising the rights and privileges 
of self-government. If one were to judge the value he placed 
upon these rights by the attention he bestows upon them, 
democracy would seem to rest upon insecure foundations. 
Nearly all our political ills would be remedied, were the citi- 
zens willing to devote more time to public affairs, to discussion 
and to agitation for better things. 

This subject naturally calls for an explanation of the way in 
which state and particularly national politics affect local elec- 

, T .. , tions. From the point of view of local welfare 

National .... 

and Local such an admixture of foreign issues is wholly evil. 

It is an illustration of the lengths to which centrali- 
zation may be pressed by leaders blind to the forces which 
they use, and only intent upon national success and the spoils 
of victory. The political boss looks upon a local election as 
the training ground upon which he may exercise his cohorts 



THE TEACHING OF CIVICS 377 

and on public office as the commissary where he may satisfy 
their hunger. An intelligent use of the independent vote is the 
only means of teaching practical politicians the risks in this 
attitude toward local affairs. 

With the older pupils it would be well to trace back to early 
times in England the history of several of the local offices. 
The dignity which comes from age may surround the office with 
greater honour, and eventually have an effect upon the manner 
in which its duties are performed. 1 

In the study of the state government the principal attention 
should be given to the administration of justice. It is true the 
legislature has great power for good or for ill, but 
in this case the remedy is simple, — elect trust- ° s ' 
worthy men to the assembly and forbid it to enact special legis- 
lation. The condition of the courts is a more serious matter, 
for if they become unworthy of public confidence the founda- 
tions of society are shaken. The sentiment of the sacredness 
of their task should be cultivated, especially in those states 
which submit to popular vote the choice of judges. The pupil 
should also understand that although he may never seek public 
office, he may be summoned to duty in the administration of 
justice either as a juror or as a witness. The best way to im- 
press upon his mind the value of the courts and the need of 
watchfulness that the traditions of justice be constantly cher- 
ished, is by an appeal to history, by showing the origin of our 
system of courts, the ruder customs of administering justice 
which they displaced, by describing the personal liberties of 
which they have been constituted the guardians by the common 
law as well as by statute law. The pupils should understand 
that a system of this sort will always faithfully represent the 
people who have it. If their ideals of fair dealing are high, the 



1 Teachers are often urged to take the pupils to sessions of the city 
council and of other public bodies in order to observe with their own 
eyes the workings of local government. This is correct in principle, but 
it cannot be erected into a rule of universal application. In some cases 
the behaviour of these bodies will not edify children. 



37$ THE TEACHING OF CIVICS 

courts will be pure and the liberty of the individual never will 
be seriously endangered. 

The central government may be approached through its local 
activities, — the distribution of the mails, the collection of excises 
The Federal an d customs, the work of the United States mar- 
Government, sh^ occasionally also the sessions of the United 
States circuit or district courts. After these functions have 
been examined and classified, the powers the president can 
exercise within the limits of any state may be more systemati- 
cally studied with illustrations from history. Among these 
illustrations may be the Whiskey Rebellion, Jackson's attitude 
toward the South Carolina nullifiers, Lincoln's policy during the 
Civil War, Cleveland's intervention during the Chicago riots in 
1894. 

The relations of Congress to the state are equally important. 
After the pupils understand the limitations placed upon both 
Extent of Congress and the state legislatures they should study 
Congressional the use by Congress of the " omnibus clause " by 
which it may "make all laws which shall be neces- 
sary and proper for carrying into execution the foregoing pow- 
ers and all other powers vested by this Constitution in the gov- 
ernment of the United States, or in any department thereof." 
Over the interpretation of this clause there long raged a debate 
between the two political parties, especially in regard to the 
authority it gave for the expenditure of money on internal im- 
provements or for the attempt to protect American industries 
by a tariff on imports. The pupils should also see how Con- 
gress has been able, with the development of trade, to extend its 
practical jurisdiction through its power over interstate commerce. 

In studying the position of the president it is more important 
to see what are the real limits of his influence than to be able 
The exactly to enumerate the powers granted to him 

President. m t ] ie Constitution. One topic is his relation to 
legislation. He not only possesses a veto which gives him a 
negative share in legislation, but he may positively influence 
it through his message and through a use of his appointing 



THE TEACHING OF CIVICS 379 

power. The value of the message is often its effect on public 
opinion and through this upon congressmen. The message 
acquires special importance if the president is the acknowl- 
edged leader of his party and if the policies which he announces 
have been determined after consultation with his supporters. 
The use of the appointing power in promoting legislation is a 
subtle method of bribery, which fortunately has been checked 
by the progress of civil service reform. It does not shock pop- 
ular opinion as did the use of patronage under Louis Philippe's 
government in France, because the offices are not given to 
congressmen, they merely receive the right to name the persons 
who are to be appointed. But this may lead to the loss of one 
of the president's most important functions. Each phase of 
the subject may be illustrated from several administrations, 
notably from those of Jefferson, Jackson, Lincoln, Johnson, and 
Cleveland. 

Another topic of vital interest is the president's control of 
foreign policy, of the manner in which Congress has attempted 
to encroach upon it by joint resolutions and by an extended 
use of the senate's share in the treaty-making power. It should 
also be made clear to the pupils that the president may in the 
performance of his duties as executive involve the country in 
serious difficulties with foreign powers so that the subsequent 
action of Congress in declaring war may be purely formal. 

The study of the method of choosing a president should be 
historical. It should be prefaced by a review of the early 
elections and of the tendencies which resulted in the develop- 
ment of a party machinery national in its extent, so that in the 
selection of a president the party leaders in Congress did not 
necessarily retain a dominant influence. 

In order to bring all these characteristics into clearer relief it 
would be well to compare with them the practice in a republic 
like France. Such a comparison would make clear also the 
difference in the nature of the cabinet systems of the two 
countries and the relations of the cabinet officers to the 
president. 



380 THE TEACHING OF CIVICS 

The Senate is interesting as the stronghold of the minority, as 
it was during the later phases of the slavery conflict. Its en- 
croachment on the executive, particularly through 

TllG Senate 

the use of its power in confirming the nominations 
or in rejecting treaties, should be described. The topic of 
principal current interest is the method of choosing senators. 
Here there should be a study of the actual practice in the 
states rather than a reproduction of the formal provisions of the 
Constitution. The right of the state legislatures to choose sena- 
tors is disappearing in the same way that the electoral college 
lost the privilege of choosing the president. 

In studying the House of Representatives attention should 
be concentrated upon the machinery of law-making, — the 
House of Rep- s P ea ker, the nature of his right to select commit- 
resentatives. tees, the function of these committees in facilitat- 
ing legislation, the attitude of the average member of Congress 
toward the particular needs of his district, the extent to which 
members may act independently of the party machine. 

The Supreme Court is better studied historically by a review 
of its decisive work during the early years of the Union, of the 
Supreme P art ^ pl ave d in the slavery controversy, of its ac- 

Court. t ion on the Legal Tender cases, in the Income Tax 

case, and more recently in the Insular cases. 

In this brief sketch the attempt has not been made to outline 
fully the topics which must be discussed, but simply to indicate 
points of view and methods of thought which may 
be helpful in interesting the pupils in the actual 
conditions of civil government in the United States. It need 
not be said that the details of the mechanism must be clear 
before its working can be comprehended. 

It should constantly be remembered that the teacher's interest 

in the higher aspects of the subject should not blind him to the 

elements of his pedagogical problem. He must be 

able not only to think intelligently about the subject, 

he must present the matter in a form simple enough to reach 

the narrow political experience of the child. This is especially 



THE TEACHING OF CIVICS 38 1 

true of the problem of teaching civics in the elementary school. 
The work is a failure unless as a result the child feels a deeper 
interest in the subject, is able with keener intelligence to grasp 
its details, realizes, vaguely at least, his relation to the com- 
munity, and anticipates his greater duties to it when he shall 
reach maturity. 



Index 



American history, sources, 23- 
25; selected, 283; guides, 121- 
122; books, 131-133, 283-2S5, 
325-327; colonial period, 286- 
308, 362-365; constitutional pe- 
riod, 320, 328-352; see also 
Course of study. 

Ancient history, sources, 32-34 ; 
guides, 123; books, 127-128, 
191 ; general treatment, 191-201, 
and under Greek and Roman 
history ; in elementary school, 
357-360; see also Course of 
study. 

Archives, 25. 

Art, 160-161, 221, 279. 

Assyria, 198. 

Austria, 278, 281, 304, 315-316, 
3 T 9-3 2 3- 

Babylon, 198. 

Bibliography, 117-133; see also 

Books, Sources. 
Biography, 18-20, 86, 218, 247, 

356. 
Books, use of, 91, 117-118; lists, 
127-133, 191, 202-204, 228-230, 
251-255, 283-285, 310-312, 325- 
3 2 7, 366. 

Carthage, 200. 

China, 192. 

Chronology, 27. 

Church, treatment of, 258-260, 272- 

274, 280. 
Civics, 93- T 05. i43" T 44, 3 6 6~3 Sl - 
Civilization, history of, 16. 



Colleges, see Universities and En- 
trance requirements. 

Colonization, 200, 215-216, 239, 
2 45> 2 47, 286-308, 330-331. 

Committee of Fifteen, 63. 

Committee of Seven, 67-69, 102, 
115-116, 195. 

Committee of Ten, 61-62. 

Constitutional history, 17, 214- 
215, 238-239, 332. 

Correlation, 47-48, 112-113, 163. 

Course of study, in France and 
Germany, 39-40, 45-48 ; views 
of Madison Conference, 60 ; 
New England Association, 63- 
65 ; New York Conference, 66 ; 
in Elementary schools, 72-74; 
civics, 96-97, 103-105 ; sug- 
gested programme, 106-116,255, 
286-287, 353- 

Criticism, see Historical criticism. 

Curriculum, see Course of study. 

Dates, value, 136-137 ; lists, 227, 
250, 282, 308-309, 324, 351-352. 
Diplomatics, 25-28. 
Documents, see Sources. 

Economics, and history, 17, 145— 

146. 
Egypt, 197, 357-35 s - 
Elementary school, 72-74, 79, 149, 

185, 2S6-287 ; course of study, 

353-3 6 5 ; civi cs, 367736 s - 
England, teaching of history in, 55. 
English history, sources, 25-26, 

3 T "3 2 > 2 5 l > 28 3; guides, 122- 



384 



INDEX 



124; books, 127-131, 251-255, 
283-2S5, 310-312; mediaeval, 
255 ff. ; modern, 286 ff., 316- 
3 2 3, 336-338, 362-365. 
Entrance requirements, 65, 68-69, 

Epigraphy, 32-34. 

Ethical value of history, 87-89, 98- 

99. 
European history, 82-83, 108-109, 

ni-112. 
Excursions, 49, 162. 

Feudalism, 266-270. 

France, teaching of history in, 40- 

55- 
French history, sources, 25-29, 
251; guides, 123-124; books, 
127-131, 251-255, 284-285, 310- 
312; mediaeval, 255 ff. ; modern, 
294, 298-304, 308, 312-323, 334 ; 
see also Course of study. 

General history, 114. 

Geography, and history, 137-140, 
208, 234-235, 289, 358, 361-362. 

George Junior Republic, 101-102. 

German history, sources, 25-31, 
251; guides, 123-124; books, 
127-131, 251-255, 310-312; me- 
diaeval, 255 ff. ; modern, 294, 
300, 302, 304, 312-323; see also 
Course of study. 

Germany, teaching of history in, 

39-55>_84- 
Greek history, sources, 32-34, 204 ; 
guides, 123; books, 127-128, 
202-204 ! an d Ancient history, 
196; treatment, 204-227 ; in ele- 
mentary school, 358-359; see 
also Course of study. 

Hebrews, the, 199. 
Hellenism, 196, 206-207. 
Historical geography, 138-140. 
Historical literature, 4-17, 1 58-1 59, 
184-185; science, 18, 22-36, 40, 



86; criticism, 14, 34-36, 124-125, 
173-174; "seminaries," 15, 53- 

54, 57-53- 

History, meaning, 5, 16, 18; rela- 
tions, 17-18, 94-95, 137-139, 369; 
periods, 8, 65-68, 140-143 ; value, 
20, 77-92. 

Holland, 277-278, 294-295, 298- 
300, 313-315. 

India, 192. 

Industrial history, 145-146. 

Inscriptions, 32-34. 

Interest, 87. 

Italian history, sources, 29 ; see Me- 
diaeval history ; modern, books, 
i3r, 310-312; treatment, 320- 
323- 

Laboratory method, 172. 
Legends, 209-210, 235-236, 354- 

355- 

Library, the, 11 7-1 33. 

Madison Conference, 60-62, 78, 
102. 

Maps, use, 140, 1 59-160; lists, 203, 
255, 285. 

Meaning of history, 5, 16, 18. 

Mediaeval history, sources, 28-32 ; 
guides, 124; books, 128-130, 251- 
255 ; treatment, 255 ff. ; in ele- 
mentary school, 360 ; see also 
Course of study. 

Methods of teaching, 48-51, 61, 64, 
134-146; discussion, 147-168; 
Source method, 169-187. 

Mythology, 212. 

National Educational Associa- 
tion, 70, 79, 103. 
Netherlands, 277-278, 294-295,303, 

3i5,32i- 
New England Association, 63-64, 

102. 
New England Histopy Teachers' 

Association, 67, 115. 



INDEX 



385 



New York Conference, 66, 115. 
Notes, 167, 187. 

Object of teaching history, in 
France and Germany, 41-44; 
denned at Madison Conference, 
61 ; discussion, 77-92 ; selection 
of facts, 134-146. 

Oral instruction, 49-51. 

Original sources, see Sources. 

Paleography, 25, 26. 

Patriotism, 89. 

Periods of history, 8, 65, 68, 140- 

143, 194-196, 207, 230-231, 255- 

256, 287, 328-329. 
Persia, 201, 218-219, 224. 
Philology, 26-27. 
Phoenicia, 200. 

Pictures, 155, 160-161, 221, 279. 
Political science and civics, 94. 
Portugal, 278, 289-292. 
Prehistoric times, 193-194. 
Prussia, 27S, 304, 316, 3i9~3 2 3- 

Races, 192-193. 

Reformation, 256, 280-282. 

Religion, Greek, 211-212. 

Renaissance, 256, 279-280. 

Reviews, 162. 

Revolution, American, 305-308 ; 

French, 316-318. 
Roman history, sources, 32-34 ; 

guides, 123; books, 127-128, 



228-230; treatment, 230 ff . ; in 
elementary school, 359-360. 
Rural schools, 74, 106-107. 

Science and history, 18, 86. 

Seminaries, historical, 15, 53-54, 
57-58 ; method, 170 ff. 

Sources, collections, 22-34; se- 
lected, 204, 229-230, 251, 283, 
310; criticism of, 34-36; use in 
teaching, 36-37, 61-62, 170 ff. 

Spain, 131, 278-279, 289-292, 294, 
361-362. 

Stories, 354"355- 

Teachers, qualifications, 149-1 54 ; 

see also Methods and Training. 
Text-books, 49-51, 61, 155-158, 

183-184, 1S6. 
Topical Method, 163-165. 
Training of teachers, 36-37, 52-55, 

76, I50-I54- 

United States, teaching of his- 
tory in, 56-76 ; see also American 
history. 

Universities, influence, 40, 56-59. 

Value of history, 20, 77-92, 134- 
146; civics, 93-105. 

West Indies, 302-303. 
Written work, 166-167. 



A LIST OF 

BOOKS FOR TEACHERS 

PUBLISHED BY 

LONGMANS, GREEN, & CO. 



Liberty Documents. 

A Working Book in Constitutional History. Selected and prepared by 
Mabel Hill, State Normal School, Lowell, Mass. Edited, with an 
Introduction, by Albert Bushnell Hart, Ph.D., Professor of History 
in Harvard University. Crown 8vo. 486 pages. $2.00. 

No careful student and no thoughtful teacher any longer attempts to 
investigate or present history without reading and thinking about constitu- 
tional sources. The purpose of this work is to place some of the most 
important memorials of history of the Anglo-Saxon race in a suitable and 
illuminating setting ; the document itself in a carefully verified text ; the 
opinions of contemporaries who are interested and competent ; later com- 
ment of scientific writers, who have studied the documents through the 
perspective of human progress. The results of eight centuries of consti- 
tutional effort are stated or suggested in this volume. 



Max Farrand, Professor of His- 
tory, Leland Stanford University: — 
" Miss Hill's Liberty Documents is 
a very practical, helpful, and sugges- 
tive work, of special value, it would 
seem to me, to teachers in our sec- 
ondary schools. I shall be glad to 
recommend it in the forthcoming 
report of the Committee of the New 
England History Teachers' Associa- 
tion upon sources that are available 
for school use." 

Outlook, New York:— "This 
is a volume which every student of 
of politics will like to have within 
reach. The critical comment is 
well chosen, and upon issues still 
controverted — such as the Presi- 
dent's policy in the colonies — brings 
out the opposing views. For ad- 
vanced classes in constitutional 
history the work is invaluable." 

Dr. Albert Leonard, State Nor- 
mal School, Ypsilanti, Mich.: — "It 
is my judgment that this is one of 
most useful books of the kind yet 



published. Such a book as this in 
the hands of pupils would add very 
greatly to the value of our history 
work in secondary schools." 

A. C. Boyden, State Normal 
School, Bridgewater, Mass.: — "We 
are using ' Liberty Documents ' in 
our classes and find it very helpful, 
exactly adapted to show the continu- 
ity of constitutional development 
among the English peoples." 

Cyrus Hamlin, D.D.:— " It is 

very valuable and very useful ; a 
good idea very well carried out. I 
shall rejoice in the opportunity of 
using it." 

Blanche E. Hazard, State Nor- 
mal School, Providence, R. I.: — "I 
am fairly eager to use it with a 
class. In both secondary and normal 
schools the book ought to be supplied 
in numbers as a reference book 
accessible to all the class. Any 
grammar school teacher at work 
with a class in English or American 
History will be glad to use it often." 



AMERICAN TEACHERS SERIES 



The Teaching of Latin and Greek 
in the Secondary School 

By Charles E. Bennett, A. B., and George P. Bristol, A. M. 

Professors in Cornell University 

Crown 8vo, with a colored map, bibliographies and index. 
Pp. xviii-336. $1.50 

This volume deals with the leading aims and the current 
problems of secondary classical teaching in this country. The 
point of view of its authors may be thus outlined : These 
studies are now on trial as never before ; they have abiding 
worth as secondary school studies ; whether this worth will be 
recognized or not will depend not upon theoretical claims, but 
upon wise and efficient instruction ; but such instruction in 
these subjects is a matter of extreme difficulty. With a view 
of reducing the difficulty of instruction, many changes have 
been made in this country, during the last twenty-five years, 
in text-books, methods of teaching, and the like. Most of 
these changes, instead of being helpful, have been distinctly 
detrimental to the study. This fact is indicated by the un- 
satisfactory results accomplished, by an analysis of the changes 
in the light of educational principles, and by a comparison of 
faulty measures with sound ones. 

Throughout these discussions there abound constructive 
suggestions (which, indeed, form the bulk of the book) 
setting forth the authors' views as to the conditions and 
means of wise and efficient instruction, and embodying the 
results of observation and experience both in the college and 
in the secondary school. 

The scope of the book is broad. Its suggestions cover no 
only the fields of study usually comprehended under "Latin 
and Greek," but the closely related subjects of History, 
Geography, Mythology, and Art. In it most, if not all, of 
the problems on which secondary teachers have been working 
during the past twenty-five years find a treatment which is 
intended to be searching, original, and suggestive. 

CONTENTS 



The Teaching of Latin in the Secondary School 

Introduction — Historical Position of the Study of Latin in 
Modern Education. 

I. The Justification of Latin as an Instrument of Secondary 
Education. II. The Beginning Work. i. The Beginner's 
Book. 2. Pronunciation. 3. The "Inductive" Method. 
4. Reading at Sight. 5. Unseen Translation. 6. What 
Latin Reading Should Follow the Elementary Work? 

[Continued. 



CONTENTS :— Continued. 

III. What Authors are to ee Read in the Secondary School, 
anl in what Sequence ? i. What Author should be Read Fir,:? 
2. Should Cicero Precede or Follow Virgil? 3. Should 

firgil's Eclogues be Read in the Secondary School? 4. 
Sallust. 5. Ovid. 6. Five-year and Six-year Latin Courses. 

IV. Conduct of the Secondary Work in' Latin. i. General 
Points on which Emphasis Should be Laid : a. Translation, b. 
Subject Matter. c. Grammar. d. How Scientific Should a 
School Grammar Be ? e. The Grammar a Book to be Studied and 
Learned. 2. Special Points to be Emphasized in Connection 
with the Different Latin Authors P.ead in the Secondarv School : 
a. Caesar, b. Cicero. c. Virgil's jEneid. V. Latin 'Composi- 
tion. Two Ways of Teaching It. The Purpose of Studying 
Latin Composition. Defects of the Newer Way. VI. Latin- 
Prosody. Difficulties of Reading Latin Verse.' "Ictus" not 
Stress. Points in which our Pronunciation of Latin fails to 
secure Quantitative Accuracy. VII. Some Miscellaneous 
Points: a. Roman History. b. Comparative Philology, c. 
Etymology. d. Illustrative Material. Books. Mans. Photo- 
graphs and Casts. VIII. The Preparation op the Teacher. 
Concluding X: re. 

The Teaching of Greek in the Secondary School. 

Introduction— The Aim of Greek Study in the High School. 

I. Pronunciation. Theory and Practice. Accent in Pronunciation 
Pronunciation of Proper Names. II. The Beginning Work.' 
The Two Methods. The First Paradigms. The Development 
of Syntax. The First Reading. III. Xenophon and Other 
Prose Writers— The Greek New Testament. The Conducting 
of Recitation. Omissions in the Anabasis. Further Prose 
Reading. The Gree^ Xew Testament. IV. Homer. The 
Problem o£ Selection. Reading of the Text. Interpretation of 
the Text. Translating Homer. English Versions of Homer. 
Homeric Language. What Portions to Read. V. Greek Com- 
position. O eject of Composition. Articulation of Clauses. 
Suggestions for Practice. VI, Geography and History. His- 
tory Part of Work in Greek. Importance of Correct Maps. 
Division of History into Periods. Modem Greece, Land and 
People. VII. Mythology and Art. Greek Mythology in 
English Literature. Greek Art. Materials for Illustration of 
Greek Art. The Teacher and His Work. 

Appendix;. Index. Map of the Greek World. 



This 13 a ncn ana stimulating book. Its criticisms c f faultv method^ a- 1 
its suggestions ot better ones, its practical directions for sound teaching in 
every stage of a classical course, not only in the languages themselves, but in 
tne connected stuc-.es ot geography and history, mythoiogv and art, cannot 
fail to raise the standard of excellence in our secondarv schools. The authors 
have reason to believe that there are excellences in the old method that have 
Deen unwisely sacrificed in efforts to improve upon it. Thev set a hieh 
standard, and show how to work up to it. Thev go into the -"e'-a ; Is of cia^s 
work, as if they stood in the teacher's place to give him practical illustration 
In short, we cannot too warmly commend this book to the attention of tho*e 
wnom it m st concerns."— Jm Guziosk. New York 



Longmans, Green, & Co's Publications. 



German Higher Schools — The History, Organization, and 
Methods of Secondary Education in Germany. 

By James E. Russell, Ph.D., Dean of Teachers College, Columbia 
University, New York. 8vo. 468 pages. With 7 Appendices of Tables 
and a Full Index. $2.25. 

This book is the result of Dr. Russell's personal investigation of the Ger- 
man Schools at the instance of the Regents of the University of the State of 
New York, and as the Special Agent of the United States. Very little has 
been written heretofore in English on the secondary education, which is the 
foundation of the German University training and the basis of all profes- 
sional service in the Fatherland, although it is in this sphere that German 
education can be studied to best advantage. 

Contents: Beginnings of German Schools — The Rise of Protestant 
Schools — The Period of Transition — The Reconstruction of the Higher 
Schools — The Prussian School System — The Higher Schools of Prussia 
— Foundation and Maintenance of Higher Schools — Rules, Regulations 
and Customs — Examinations and Privileges — Student Life in the Higher 
Schools — Instruction in Religion — Instruction in German — Instruction 
in Greek and Latin — Instruction in Modern Languages — Instruction in 
History and Geography — Instruction in Mathematics — Instruction in 
the Natural Sciences — The Professional Training of Teachers — Ap- 
pointment, Promotion, and Emoluments of Teachers — Tendencies of 
School Reform — Merits and Defects of German Secondary Education — 
The Privileged Higher Schools of Germany in 1897 — Attendance in 
Higher Schools in Prussia — System of Privileges — Salary Schedules — 
Pensions of Teachers in the Higher Schools of Germany — Extracts 
from the General Pension Laws of Prussia — Leading Educational Jour- 
nals of Germany — Index. 



The Outlook, New York :— ' ' The 
book abounds in matters of interest 
to all professional teachers. The 
work is certain to remain, at least for 
years, the standard reference-book 
and authority upon this subject." 

The Dial, Chicago: — "The au- 
thor shows wide reading on this sub- 
ject and skilful use of the note-book. 
He sprinkles quotations over his 
pages most plentifully, but he so 
weaves them into his narrative or 
exposition as not seriously to impair 
the unity of his composition. But, 
what is more to the purpose, he 
shows, when dealing with the second- 
ary schools as they now exist, a large 
first-hand knowledge, obtained by 
personal visitation of schools and 
conference with teachers and educa- 
tional authorities. There is no work 



in the English language, known to 
us, that contains so much and so 
valuable information about the sec- 
ondary schools of Germany. Nor is 
the book a book of facts merely ; the 
author has an eye also for ideas and 
forces, and conducts his historical 
narration with constant reference to 
these factors." 

Public Opinion, New York: — 
' ' An original and very valuable con- 
tribution to the literature of peda- 
gogies. For Germany's position in 
educational matters is an assurance 
that one may learn much from a 
study of any of her schools. After 
several historical chapters each study 
of the secondary schools is taken up 
separately — a very wise plan which 
greatly simplifies a search for par- 
ticular information." 



m 28 IS 

1 COPY DEL. roUT.DfV." 
APK. 2B 1902 



TO 



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